World Mental Health Day: Bengaluru's DocApp gives 'Stress Day Off' to staff

Bengaluru: In this everyday life of deadlines, assignments and presentations, we end up compromising on our mental health. This is why, on the occasion of World Mental Health Day on October 10, Bengaluru-based healthcare firm DocsApp has introduced mental health care as part of the sick leaves given to its employees.

According to IANS, DocsApp, a mobile app that is an aggregator for specialist doctors, has introduced the concept of a 'Stress Day Off' to its team. This will allow them to take care of their mental well being.

"We automatically associate 'sick leave' with someone being physically ill. However, we never associate a person being sick to a mental health issue," CEO Satish Kannan said. "Lack of awareness about mental health issues has hindered people from seeking help from a specialist. We need to educate people and ensure they understand that mental health issues have to be treated, and a specialist has to be consulted for a treatment," he added.

Mental health is an important part of one’s well-being and reflects in their day-to-day productivity. DocApp, which strongly believes in this philosophy, feels its ‘Stress Day Off’ policy will help employees take better care of their cognitive health.

According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) study in 2014, India features among the leading countries where depression and anxiety are on the rise.