‘People can consult Clinical Psychologists on helpline nos for online consultation and counselling’

Srinagar:  At a time when people are confined within the four walls of their houses due to the prevailing Covid-19 lockdown, Psychiatric experts have severe apprehensions of people developing mental health issues.

Psychiatrists believe that people staying at home for days together with Covid trauma and without keeping themselves busy can have   repercussions on their mental health.

Dr Mohammad Maqbool Dar, Head of the Department (HoD), Psychiatry, Government Medical College Srinagar while delving into the topic says that the there has been subsequent increase in the number of cases related to psychiatric diseases among people ever since the successive lockdowns had to be imposed in the wake of corona virus outbreak.

Talking about the most common mental health issues that people have developed during these lockdowns, Dr Maqbool says, “Most of the psychiatric patients have developed five types of illnesses during this period like depression, anxiety, dissociative and  panic  disorders besides obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), while post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has also been  witnessed in some patients”.

Giving details about the symptoms of these diseases, he said, “If we talk of depression, the patients suffering from this mental health issue are usually in bad mood, they sleep less, have poor concentration and sometimes even develop suicidal thoughts also”.

In case of panic disorder, a patient feels intense anxiety which remains there for a few minutes, he experiences chest pain, headache, choking sensation in throat and also sometimes feels he is about to experience heart attack and these patients also visit cardiologists for treatment, Dr Maqbool said.

The patients suffering from dissociative disorder feel like dizziness which remains there for some minutes and even sometimes it lasts till half an hour.

“As regards Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), the patients suffering from it frequently wash their hands, indulge in repetitive behaviour, face health anxiety and due to covid, their behaviour has also got reinforced”, he added.

Giving reference to a study conducted by the Institute of Mental Health in collaboration with some of the renowned doctors from Government Medical College and CD Hospital, the HoD Psychiatry said that they have conducted a study on 119 patients to find out about the percentage of people suffering from different disorders.

“During the study we found that as per scales, 44 percent of the people among these were found suffering from anxiety disorder, 61 percent from depression, 25 percent from PTSD and OCD was found in almost among 98 percent of the patients” he added.

Dr Maqbool said due to prevailing Covid-19 pandemic people are developing mental health problems, people sitting home need to take care of their mental health and especially the ones sitting in home isolation.

“People sitting in home isolation need to keep themselves engaged, they can talk to people over phone, keep themselves busy in doing exercises, meditation, yoga and playing indoor games and this way they can prevent stress on their mental health,” he suggested.

In Srinagar district, the individuals have been advised to contact Dr Maqbool HoD Psychiatry on cell no 7889818196, Dr Junaid Nabi Assistant Professor on 9797199799, Dr Rayees Assistant Professor on 6005027377 and Dr Hadika  Senior Resident on 9622932343.

Srinagar: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar Friday visited several places of Srinagar City and reviewed security & lockdown arrangements in view of Jumat-Ul-Vida.

IGP visited Jamia Masjid, Dargah Hazratbal and Lal Chowk areas of Srinagar city and reviewed security and lockdown arrangements of these areas.

He interacted and appreciated the jurisdictional Police Officers and cops for showing high sense of responsibility and professionalism in dealing with the situation.

During the visit, IGP directed the officers for implementation of Covid-19 guidelines & SOPs strictly, moreover, he also directed them to act strictly against those found violating Covid guidelines & SOPs.

He said that all the sensitive areas are thoroughly under restrictions and ensure that essentials are provided to the people. He also said that the situation is being monitored on a daily basis to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Srinagar: Former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking release of all the political prisoners and detainees in wake of the ongoing pandemic.

Mehbooba in the letter to PM Modi stated, “I write to you at a time when the entire country has been engulfed by a deadly second wave of COVID. Unfortunately the health infrastructure has completely collapsed & the harrowing images of stranded COVID patients gasping for breath have shocked us all.”

“Worrying reports about prisoners dying due to COVID-19 and subsequent lack of medical attention have been trickling in. At a time when the system is struggling to cope with this horrendous situation, lives of prisoners may be the least priority,” she said.

The letter further reads that as far as Kashmir is concerned, it is no secret that hundreds, or may be thousands of detainees and political prisoners arrested since August 2019 continue to languish in jails both in and outside J&K. “Most of them are detained under preventive laws and don’t face any prosecution. Many continue to be held even after courts granted them bail. Most recent reminder of the lurking threat to their lives is Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai’s death who lost his life because he contracted COVID in jail and was deprived of medical care.”

She further said that throughout the world, most countries have released prisoners on parole in view of the alarming COVID crisis. “A democratic and civilized country like India shouldn’t drag its feet and must release these detainees immediately so that they can return home at a time when life feels so threatened. I hope you will give due consideration to this matter and order their release,” she said in the letter—(KNO)