World Suicide Prevention Day 2020: In pandemic, Indians are coping with depression, survey finds

As per the survey, there is a cause of concern with more than 59 per cent of the population having little pleasure in doing things these days — out of which, 38 per cent has this fleeting feeling, and 9 per cent feels this way on more occasions. Twelve per cent of the population experiences this on a daily basis.

There seems to be no immediate end to the pandemic in sight. And as months go by, the mental health of people has been affected, too. For starters, for a vast majority of people, this has been a novel experience. Add to that the fear of losing jobs, the failing economy, the crumbling health care sector, and the burnout being experienced because of long hours at work; all of these factors have culminated to put immense pressure on the mental well-being of people.

Now, a recent survey on mental health has found that as many as 43 per cent of Indians are currently plagued with depression. According to GOQii — a smart-tech enabled preventive healthcare ecosystem, which has conducted the survey across 10,000+ Indians to understand how COVID-19 has changed the lifestyle and how people are adapting to the new normal — the last five months have been unexpected, and have adversely impacted the health habits of citizens across the country. With the series of lockdowns, anxiety, job cuts, health scares, and the overall volatile environment, stress levels are at an all-time high.

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Of the 43 per cent of people coping with depression, 26 per cent are living with a mild form of it, while 17 per cent face a more strenuous kind, the survey finds. Six per cent of people are severely depressed.

As per the study, there is a cause of concern with more than 59 per cent of the population having little pleasure in doing things these days — out of which, 38 per cent has this fleeting feeling, and 9 per cent feels this way on more occasions. Twelve per cent of the population experiences this on a daily basis.

The survey also found that more than 57 per cent of the population feels tired or has little energy on some days, and more than 15 per cent has this feeling for the most part of the week. This leads to some people sleeping too much, while some others having trouble sleeping. With a change in lifestyle, approximately half the population is having trouble with sleep. Seven per cent of people go through this nearly every day, while 33 per cent experienced it for a few days.

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“Our study indicates that an increasing number of people across the country are dealing with mental health issues triggered by the spread of the coronavirus and the consequent lockdown. The mounting uncertainty is the basis of the high-stress index which can be controlled with a balanced diet, changes in lifestyle and appropriate sleep patterns. Mental health has a huge impact on physical health and overall quality of life, hence addressing it sooner with a healthy and wholesome lifestyle is the only way ahead,” Vishal Gondal, Founder and CEO, GOQii, said.

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