These are free, confidential, and answered by trained people. You don't need to be in a crisis to call one — "I don't really know why I'm calling" is a completely normal way to start.
If calling a stranger feels like too much right now, message Mayank Tutorials on WhatsApp at 9324796571. A real person reads it. You don't have to explain everything, and you don't have to be a current student.
If tonight is the hard part
None of this fixes anything. It's just a way to get through the next hour, which is sometimes the only job.
Tell one person — a parent, a sibling, a friend, anyone. Even a rough, badly-worded version of it.
Get out of the room you're in. A balcony, a staircase, the street outside — a different room genuinely changes how a thought feels.
Eat something and drink water. Most bad nights have a few hours of nothing in them.
Put the exam away until morning. Nothing you learn tonight in this state will be there tomorrow anyway.
If the thoughts have gone somewhere frightening, call 14416 now. That's exactly what it's for, and you won't be wasting anyone's time.
For parents: what's worth noticing
None of these are a diagnosis, and any one of them alone is usually just a teenager being a teenager. It's a cluster of them, lasting more than a couple of weeks, that's worth acting on.
Sleep that's changed a lot in either direction, for more than two weeks.
Pulling away from friends, or from things they used to enjoy without being asked.
"What's the point" turning up more than once, even said lightly or as a joke.
Eating noticeably more or less than usual.
Irritability or anger that seems bigger than whatever set it off.
Giving away things they care about, or talking about themselves as a burden.
If several of these are true at once, don't wait for the right words. Say the direct thing — "you haven't seemed yourself, and I'm worried about you" — and let a professional take it from there. Your GP or paediatrician is a normal, ordinary first step.
Saathi is a guide written by a coaching institute, not a medical service. Nothing here is a diagnosis or a substitute for a doctor, a counsellor, or a helpline.