Fear and anxiety has gripped Jamshedpur residents during the raging second wave of the Covid pandemic, according to Jeevan, a suicide prevention centre in the steel city.

The Bistupur-based centre has found that people have become extremely concerned on how to deal with the situation when infected with the virus.

“Fear of not getting beds in hospitals, oxygen, Covid vaccines and ambulances are the basic reasons behind the jump in anxiety level. This increases the stress,” said Jeoraj Jain, director of Jeevan.

“Our findings are based on the daily distress calls we receive. All the callers say they were very concerned about what to do in emergency situations. The callers say they were worried whether they would get oxygen, beds in hospitals as well as Covid vaccines. The second wave of the pandemic has certainly made people extremely anxious,” Jain said.

Jeevan volunteers counsel on the importance of taking precautions and not to become unnecessarily anxious. “Our volunteers try their best and also boost the morale of the callers who feel depressed after going through negative reports related to Covid. We always stress on the need to remain positive and deal with the situation as a responsible citizen,” the Jeevan director added.

According to him, some of the 30-odd Jeevan volunteers have tested positive for Covid 19 and were in home isolation. “Our volunteers are working on rotation. Four volunteers are operating every alternate day,” Jain said.

A Jeevan volunteer said people should try and develop a positive attitude towards life. “Yoga and meditation can help in these difficult times. People should think that this difficult phase is temporary and better days will come again. They should have patience and never allow negativity grip them,” he emphasised.

He added that people are also becoming anxious about losing jobs. “This trend is very disturbing and driving people to negative thoughts. We always tell such people to never assume the worst scenario and always think about better days ahead,” he added.

He, however, agreed that some people think that they would test positive for Covid even before they undergo tests. “People think what will happen after they test positive since there is a rush for beds, oxygen and vaccines. People should avoid hypothetical thoughts. Why to always think about the worst. We should instead think the opposite. This would help overcome negative thoughts,” he explained.