JOIN USThis one is for jilted lovers! With a break-up, come a lot of negative feelings, often leading up to thoughts of suicide.
It feels like the end of the world for those who have been separated from their partners. But in this tech savvy world, online help has proved to be a saviour for those wanting to overcome their post break-up blues.
Ankit, 25, a marketing executive has come up with breakuphelpine.com. The portal is a business model designed by Ankit, his filmmaker friend Nainy and psychologists Anshuman and Sandeep.
Registration on their website promises jilted lovers a reply within 24 hours and entitles them to 30 days of free emotional assistance via email and two Skype sessions. If they still yearn for hand-holding, intensive sessions over mail, Skype and phone are available for Rs 2,500 a month.
Ask Ankit why and how he came up with this idea and not surprisingly, he confesses to having had a particularly bad break-up himself. “I also had my share of turmoil.
Youngsters have heartbreaks in colleges. They need a hand to move on. The nature and structure of our society is such that people go into a cocoon post break-up. But it is okay to move on or even have another boyfriend/girlfriend,” says Ankit sounding wise beyond his years.
But that is not how the social milieu operates in India. “Even urban Indians aren’t comfortable with the idea of visiting a psychologist. It’s equal to admitting we are mad but that is so incorrect. I had to think of a way to disguise therapy – making it casual and conversational,” says Ankit, whose core customers are Indians, aged 18 -25, and may include divorcees.
“We give a roadmap through our questions. We start by asking them their locations, hobbies and interests so that they open up and share their inner feelings,” adds Ankit.
Although the helpline is only a month old, they already have 94 members, including 19 expats. The challenges they face are multiple.
Indians can be very difficult when it comes to talking about their private lives and often walk away saying ‘I am fine’. “We need to educate people on how they can trust strangers. On the other hand, Expats are easier to handle.
“Somehow, Indians cannot digest the fact that if a relationship has not worked out it is alright to have another partner. They are too pressured by what the society may think about them or their breakup.”
Currently, the ratio of girls and boys contacting them is 60:40 and success is 86 per cent. The most common factor leading to a break-up is time management. “Most of the lovers break-up due to lack to time. When they are in colleges they spend a lot of time together but after entering the corporate world, time is the first casualty.”
Breakuponline’s is now planning to set up camps and break-up booths in colleges from where maximum number of suicides have been reported - owing to bad relationships.