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July 5: A study by Ashadeep, a city-based NGO, has revealed high levels of stress among teenagers and middle-aged residents here. Moreover, the number of men suffering from stress outnumbers women in all age groups.
The study was conducted on the basis of calls received by a helpline run by the NGO for people suffering from any kind of emotional and mental problems. Since its launch in January this year, the helpline has so far received 230 calls.
The study found that academic pressure, high levels of competition in society, inability to bond with family members together with loneliness are some factors attributed to stress among the adolescents. On the other hand, unemployment, inability to get a good job, loneliness and economic problems were the main reasons behind the increasing stress levels among the adult population.
“We have received a lot of calls from people in their late teens, who sound very frustrated for several reasons. Many troubled teenagers with who we have interacted are in a complete fix as to what choice they should make with regard to their career. Many are also disheartened as they have not been allowed to pursue the career of their choice by their parents and as a result they become very rebellious. The cut-throat competition to score excellent marks and inability to get admission to a reputed college are other reasons that aggravate their woes,” said Reema Baruah, a clinical psychologist of Ashadeep.
Moreover, a considerable percentage of teenagers today also suffer from relationship problems. They suffer from extreme loneliness and are unable to bond well with their parents, who are too caught up with their own duties to spend quality time with their children, she said.
“These days, teenagers get into relationships at an early age. But since they are too immature to handle problems, which arise with time, these relations do not last long. In many cases they fail to get the attention and time they deserve from their working parents and end up searching for emotional bonding in such relations. In fact, we have also received calls from worried parents who ask for help saying their teenaged daughter or son has already been through several relationships and is not ready to listen to any advice.
There have been instances where these youngsters have even hit their parents. With no way out, the parents seek counselling to deal with their troubled kids,” said Anjana Goswami, director of Ashadeep.
“Among adults, we have received several calls for help from men who are highly educated but fail to get a good government or high-paying private job. This leads to financial instability because of which they fail to settle down at the right time. They suffer from extreme loneliness at one point and are unable to cope with it, which in turn affects their physical and emotional well-being,” said Baruah.
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