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Crisis support

If you need help right now

This website cannot help you in an emergency. These services can, they are free, and most of them answer at any hour.

If you are thinking about harming yourself, or you are frightened by what is going through your mind, please call one of the numbers below now. You do not need to be in danger to call. You do not need a reason that sounds serious enough.

  • Tele-MANAS

    24×7
    14416

    Government of India. Toll-free, in English and 20 regional languages.

  • AASRA

    24×7
    +91 98204 66726

    Confidential emotional support.

  • Vandrevala Foundation

    24×7
    1860 266 2345

    Free counselling and crisis support.

  • iCALL — TISS

    Mon – Sat, 8am – 10pm
    9152987821

    Psychosocial helpline run by Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

  • Emergency services

    24×7
    112

    National emergency number.

If someone else is at risk

Stay with them if you safely can. Take seriously anything they say about wanting to die, even if it is said lightly. Remove access to means where that is possible. Call Tele-MANAS on 14416 — the counsellors there will talk to you about how to help someone else, not only to the person at risk. In an emergency, call112.

What counselling is not

Counselling with me is scheduled, not on-demand. I do not offer crisis or emergency support, I am not reachable between sessions for urgent matters, and I do not monitor email out of hours. That is not a limitation I am apologising for — it is how the work is safely structured. Crisis support requires services staffed around the clock, and the numbers on this page are exactly that.

Getting ongoing clinical care

If you need a diagnosis, medication, or care for a severe or acute condition, you need a psychiatrist or an RCI-registered clinical psychologist. Tele-MANAS can refer you into the public system. Your nearest government medical college hospital will have a psychiatry department, and district hospitals run mental health clinics under the National Mental Health Programme.

Helpline details were verified in July 2026 and are re-checked twice a year. If you find a number that no longer works, pleasetell me so I can correct it.