The Hindu : New Delhi News : Helpline to tide over stress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 01, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Helpline to tide over stress

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 31. Call it a fast emerging bane for metro dwellers or an eventuality that they have to live with. According to physicians, stress is slowly emerging as among the deadliest of silent killers with the World Health Organisation reporting incidence of mental ailments in the country as high as in the 1:4 ratio.

"Though lifestyle ailments have been recognised and people approach doctors for treatment, stress is yet to be properly understood and continues to be an all pervading phenomenon, affecting all professions, age groups, gender and strata of society and taking a heavy toll on the well being of an individual,'' said psychiatrist Anchal Bhagat.

A helping hand is being offered to managers and corporate bosses, who come under the high stress group, to tide over their high stress jobs beginning November 1. The Capital will get it first dedicated helpline for corporate bosses and managers where they can call in (252460000), meet in person and also log onto www.empoweronline.net. This initial 12-hour service will be extended nation-wide and will later become a 24-hour service.

Speaking about the service, the founder of Empower, Sajay Salooja, explained: "Stress can also become a devastating way of life, chronic enough to disturb balance and aggravate all diseases. Therefore it is imperative for individuals to take control of stress and to steer it on the right path. The programme which is being offered to cooperates and their family along with annual mental health check-up and other facilities, is based on extensive research on the subject in the Indian corporate scenario.''

This then will be the first such employee assistance programme to be started in the country for helping employees and their families with personal and work related challenges and problems which they may experience from time to time.

"The programme Empower strives to design and provide innovative behavioural solutions for workplaces. The Empower team consists of leading names in the field of psychological counselling, medicine, nutrition, psychiatry, behavioural psychology, law, marriage counsellors, child development counsellors and to add to the facilities it is equipped with a state-of-the-art technology and a helpline to offer professional counselling,'' explained Salooja.

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