The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Sneha helpline for students to cope with post-results trauma

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 22, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Sneha helpline for students to cope with post-results trauma

Ramya Kannan

Support will also be provided to parents anxious about their wards' future The free helpline will be open to all students who feel the need for some support

CHENNAI: Before you allow the examination result that has fallen way below your expectation bother you and drive you to desperate measures, think about Sneha.

The 24-hour suicide helpline is once again attempting to lend a shoulder to students anxiously awaiting their results.

Timing its intervention with the announcement that the standard XII board exam results will be released on May 22, Sneha has once again emphasised that its free helpline (28352345) will be open to all students who feel the need for some support after they receive the results.

Students can also drop into Sneha's office (New No. 7 Besant Road, Royapettah, Chennai 600 014) to meet the counsellors in person between May 22 and June 5 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Those hesitant to drop in or call can also email Sneha at help@snehaindia.org.

Statistics reveal that on an average, more than 200 students in the age group of 14-29 commit suicide around the time the results are announced.

They are shattered not only when they score low marks but also when their performance does not match up to their expectation or their parents' hopes. They experience a gamut of feelings including tension, fear, frustration, anger, helplessness, humiliation, shame, guilt, misery and a sense of worthlessness — a potent recipe for suicide.

Negative feelings

Research shows that during the late hours of the night, negative feelings are intensified and there is a desperate need for human contact, Sneha director P.V. Sankaranarayanan says. At this hour of emotional crisis, an understanding and accepting a person offering a special kind of listening can make a huge difference to a person contemplating suicide.

Support will also be provided to the parents who are equally and, at times, more anxious about the future of their wards.

Sneha has been offering its helpline service for the past five years. It receives around 500 distress calls every year during the time the results are announced.

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