A Ray of Hope

A group of Kolkatans under the guidance of Hiranmay Saha,a consultant psychiatrist and former chairman of state Child Welfare Committee,started to work under the banner of Global Mental Health Foundation for those in need and those suffering from depression. Though the group does not provide any service,they spend day in and day out to make people aware of the problem of depression and guide them to those who can help.

According to the members of the association,patients who visit doctors more often than not suffer from some sort of depression which is not always diagnosed properly. For the past ten years the organisation has been running campaigns to curb the fatal diesease of depression.

Seminars,posters,placards,rallies,hoardings,mobile vans,display vans and helpline calls are some of the ways through which the group works across the state. Interestingly,their activities are not only restricted to Kolkata but spread across others states where they are invited to spread the message of hope. They even do campaigning and postering in front of Metro stations which have become the latest hub of suicide cases in Kolkata.

“Most people do not know that the problem of depression is rampant and is preventable. There is a social stigma attached to the problem and people do not always want to accept that there is some sort of depression that they are suffering from. A lot of cases with which patients sometimes approach doctors result from depressions. We are a group working with this menace since the past 10 years. We use different methods to spread the word that depression is common and should be taken care of otherwise it may lead to suicides. We hold seminars,put up hoardings and placards,use mobile vans sometimes and paste posters too,” said Debashish Chatterjee of Global Mental Health Foundation.

The group has recently posted banners at different state police presidency divisions and has a mobile van on awareness which is going to do the rounds for the next one month across the state. Booklets containing information on the definition of depression,its symptoms and its cure are also being published by the group. While booklets have been compiled in Bengali,English,Hindi,Tamil,Manipuri,Assamese,similar work would also be coming out in Oriya and Telugu.

“It is not always necessary to go to the psychiatrist for treating depression. One can simply go to a general physician. We go to different states and places for carrying out awareness campaigns like Bokaro,Hyderabad,Bhubaneswar,Manipur,Assam,Agartala,among others,” said Chatterjee.

There is also a helpline toll-free number 1800-3456-4444 which the members of the organisation have started for the last one year. Each day almost 20 to 25 people seeking information on the disease call up. While places in North 24-Parganas record the maximum number of callers,there are equal number of calls coming in from both rural and urban Bengal.