Helplessness in dealing with a depressed family member, anxiety about job, feeling of being cut off from loved ones or friends — a helpline started by the health department has thrown up some disturbing insights into the minds of people confined to their homes for over 51 days.

The toll-free helpline offers free consultation by psychologists.

Callers have also expressed fear about family members resorting to an extreme step or sought advice on how to tackle someone who “seems to be withdrawing into a shell”.

Many others have sought ways to battle a growing fear of joblessness or feeling incompetent for being out of the usual work routine for several weeks.

“An insurance agent, for instance, said he would meet at least 15 persons every week and he was so good that almost every meeting would fetch him returns,” said a psychologist, who has been attending to some of the calls on the helpline. “He said he was not sure if he would be able to retain his clients without meeting them for over a month now and what would happen to his job.”

The helpline (1800 313 444 222/ 033 23412600), recently launched by the health and family welfare department, is open between 11am and 5pm every day. A caller is allotted a specific time the next day when he can call back and speak to a psychologist for free.

Two senior psychologists from the Institute of Psychiatry have been receiving calls for psychological counselling. Most of the callers are aged 25 to 50.

Several callers said they were feeling isolated, unable to meet familiar faces and “struggling to relate to the new world”.

“Someone who is used to meeting one of his favourite colleagues or a tea vendor at a particular stall or a close friend regularly is unable to do so now. This sense of loss is leaving many with a feeling of not being able to relate to their world,” said another senior psychologist.

One caller asked: “Is it true that none of us in this world knows what to do in this situation as the virus keeps spreading?”

Doctors have been patiently listening to the concerns and anxieties before making specific suggestions to battle the mental stress.

“We are advising family members to come together for a meeting. Each one should then share his view about the pandemic. This exercise would allow each of the members to speak up and voice their anxieties,” Pradip Saha, the director of the Institute of Psychiatry, told Metro. “We are counselling people how to be productive with one's particular skills even when locked up at home.”

One way could be to return to one's hobbies — singing, dancing, penning poems or sewing. “This would make people feel confident about their capabilities and also leave them with a sense of empowerment,” one of the doctors said.