Slug: World Suicide Prevention Day
Ahmedabad: Anokhi (name changed), 22, a fresh IT engineering graduate, turned to a popular AI platform to make sense of what her physical signs—weight loss, lack of sleep and appetite, and constant stress—could mean. The counselling lasted for over an hour as she poured her heart out to discuss her aspirations and weight of parents’ dreams along with her personal life,” said Dr Shikha Talati, a psychiatrist and coordinator associated with TeleMANAS helpline (14416), a project by NIMHANS. At TeleMANAS, Dr Talati said the service handles an average of 50-60 calls per month related to extreme depression and suicidal tendencies. Jeevan Aastha (1800-233-3330) is also seeing a noticeable share of callers arriving via AI-led discovery. Sanjivani Adhvaryu, a psychologist and senior mental health counsellor with the helpline, said that 20% of the average 40 to 50 daily calls made to the helpline were prompted by AI search. Analysis of Jeevan Aastha calls—about 1,200 per month—indicates younger callers more often cite interpersonal and relationship issues, middle-aged callers flag financial distress, and many elderly callers speak about health concerns and loneliness. September 10 is observed as World Suicide Prevention Day to create awareness about the issue.
She told us that the chatbot suggested the numbers to dial in case of distress. “But it is a deeply personal journey, and technology cannot replace the human touch,” Adhvaryu said. The conversation moved to her struggle to settle in a new city for work and the emotional fallout of ending a three-year relationship and starting a new one with a colleague. “When she called our helpline, she was a potential candidate for potential harm. “Timely intervention was provided as she is now in regular therapy and leading a healthy life. Mental health professionals staffing suicide prevention and counselling helplines say such AI-to-human escalation is showing up more often, with people increasingly using chat-based tools to articulate distress and then being directed—by prompts or searches—to call a helpline. Experts say the trend of the young freely chatting with AI about mental health issues has made AI central to making mental health information and support more accessible. “Sometimes the chats are not to seek definite answers but just to pour heart out and to feel seen without judgement. We thus advise callers when needed for intervention by experts. ” Counsellors say call patterns continue to reflect age-linked stressors. This year’s theme is ‘Changing the Narrative on Suicide’ with the call to action ‘Start the Conversation’.
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