Sukriti Ghosh, 25, works as a sales girl in a multi-brand retail store and lives in a girls hostel.
Sukriti Ghosh, 25, works as a sales girl in a multi-brand retail store and lives in a girls hostel. Since the past two weeks, she has been buying anti-depressants and sleeping pills from a local chemist to deal with a “deep sense of unease all the time”. She has no time to consult a doctor.
Pushpa Jaiswal is working for a fast food chain and admits that increasing stress levels have driven her to alcohol and now she downs three pegs every night to induce sleep. Pushpa belongs to Faizabad and has a widowed mother and two younger sisters to take care of.
Peer pressure, growing competition, financial instability, broken relationship and excessive use of mobile phone is causing insomnia and anxiety attack in girls living in private hostels in Lucknow.
Dr Giri Lal Gupta Institute of Public Health at Lucknow University interviewed about 70 girls living in hostels and majority of them have been found to be suffering from high stress levels.
Prof M.K. Agarwal, director of the institute, said that majority of girls living in private hostel belong to smaller towns and had come to Lucknow to make a career. “These girls are doing odd jobs, working in retail stores, beauty parlours and hotels. They are suffering from lifestyle disorders that include late nights and extended working hours. They also face financial problems since they do not come from stable backgrounds. Besides, there is tremendous peer pressure—they want to wear good clothes, have expensive mobile phones and lead a good lifestyle which adds to their tension quotient,” he said.
Sukriti says reason for her tension was financial and a demanding boss. “My salary is just about enough to meet my expenses and my bosses force me to work extra hours.”
If I refuse, they threaten to sack me. When I return to the hostel around 10.30 p.m , the lady who runs the hostel shouts at me because she thinks I have been partying out. This is a daily routine and I have started taking anti-depressants”, she said.
Mrs Srivastava, the owner of the hostel, justified her behaviour and said that since she was responsible for the safety of the girls staying at the hostel, she had set a 10 pm deadline.
“Most of these girls have boyfriends and stay out till late at night. Who is going to face the police of something goes wrong ” she asked rather indignantly.
Anshula Trivedi, who belongs to Sultanpur and works in a beauty parlour, admits to having frequent anxiety attacks.
“I fought with my parents and brothers and came to Lucknow to make a career but now I am stuck here. My ego does not allow me to return home and life here is worse,” she said.
Anshula earns Rs 6,000 per month, pays Rs 3,500 for accommodation and manages her other expenses in the remaining amount.
