The platform witnessed over 150 per cent jump in online consultations sought by females for issues related to mental health, while percentage for the same grew 85 per cent in males
Indians are grappling with multiple forms of mental health issues that have risen exponentially post coronavirus outbreak, cites Lybrate which has witnessed over 110 per cent rise in online patient consults around mental health conditions on its platform.
The platform witnessed over 150 per cent jump in online consultations sought by females for issues related to mental health, while the percentage for the same grew 85 per cent in males reaching out to doctors online.
The highest jump has been witnessed from Mumbai (125 per cent), followed by Delhi (109 per cent), Pune (116 per cent), Ahmedabad (97 per cent), Chennai (86 per cent), Bengaluru (94 per cent) and Kolkata (74 per cent). Among Tier II cities, the biggest jump in online consultations concerning mental health has been reported from Indore (97 per cent), Lucknow (93 per cent), Kochi (87 per cent), Patna (85 per cent), Bhopal (57 per cent) and Bhubaneshwar (43 per cent).
Overall within the age brackets, the jump in patient consults has been highest in the age group of 25-45 years. People from 45-60 age bracket were next who asked majority of queries on the platform regarding mental health.
“Mental health became a point of concern for a majority of Indians after COVID-19. We noticed on our platform that even specialists who did not deal with the subject were being consulted about mental health issues. Given the demanding situation, we provided a basic session to doctors of other specialists with psychologists on our platform who trained them on how to better counsel those seeking help regarding mental health problems. As the questions asked were mostly generic in nature, we thought it would come handy for those doctors who want to help out during the crisis,” said Saurabh Arora, Founder & CEO, Lybrate.
The queries mainly revolved around stress, isolation, claustrophobia, being unproductive, anger, irritation, loneliness, mood swings, not being able to cope with family members around, rifts between spouses, coping mechanisms, uncertainty and helplessness. Of late, there has been a substantial rise in queries from working people around job losses and related stress, fear and worry on resuming offices at a time when COVID-19 cases are rising in the country.
In the age group of 18-25 years, the percentage rise was 80 per cent for online consultations done by males around mental health, while the same stood at 135 per cent for females. Similarly, in the age group of 25-45 years, it was 95 per cent for males and 160 per cent for females. Coming to the 45-60 year age bracket, it was 90 per cent for males and 140 per cent for females.
Lybrate came up with the insights post analysis of data gathered in the period between March 1, 2020 and May 25, 2020.