Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) It could be social apathy towards mental health that leads to situations like in Noida where two sisters remained locked up in their house for seven months while the neighbourhood failed to realise the gravity of their pain, psychologists said.

“There is so much stigma attached to mental health in the society that people don’t come out to help those in need,” city based psychologist Monica kumar told IANS Tuesday.

Anuradha Behl, 42, and her sister Sonali Behl, 38, who locked themselves up at their Noida home for seven months after falling into deep depression following the death of their father two years ago, were rescued Tuesday when police broke open the door of their house and brought them out.

There is acute lack of awareness about the ways to help such people who move away into isolation, Kumar said.

Instead of abandoning people suffering from similar mental condition, they should be given proper psychological counselling and care and be involved in community activities, said the expert.

Psychologists are, however, uncertain about what caused the sisters to take such an extreme step.

“It is difficult to say the exact reason because of which they locked themselves up,” psychiatrist Samir Parikh said, adding, “Right now these people need help and care before it can be evaluated as to why it happened.”

According to Kumar, the role of neighbourhood could be questioned.

“If the police failed to take any action initially, people should have moved to a magistrate to get them rescued,” she said, referring to the long period of locked-up isolation that the sisters chose.