Mental Health and Wellbeing

Shampa Maitra, 48, a Mumbai-based professional, faced the travails of insomnia, which started in her late teens and lasted for over 25 years. How did she finally get over her addiction to sleeping pills?  When were you diagnosed with Insomnia? Pretty early, when I was about 18/19, around the time I lost my father. What were the early symptoms? It was difficult to fall asleep. I counted sheep till they came home many times over but still could not fall asleep. When I did, it was hard to…

And QUIT SMOKING. Akhileshwar Sahay, a seasoned industry veteran, has been living with bipolar disorder for the last 2 decades. In this interview, he talks about his troubled journey with multiple chronic illnesses including COPD, Depression, Diabetes and his commitment to removing stigma related to mental illness.  How did your bipolar disorder start? What were the early symptoms? Bipolar disorder is not like influenza that it is diagnosed at once. Its roots are biological and I was…

Symptoms like weight loss, memory loss, weakness, and fatigue should not be mistaken as a sign of the"normal aging" process. Dr. Shital Patel explains 12 common but misleading symptoms in the elderly and why you should seek a doctor's opinion instead of ignoring them.  Symptoms in the elderly can have very different causes than they may have in a young person. Many symptoms in the geriatric population may be masked by concurrent chronic ailments, injuries, age-related physiological…

When a socially active person like Sharmada started avoiding her friends, she knew she had a problem. Sharmada shares her experience with Social Anxiety and how she learnt to deal with it.  At some point in our lives, most of us have dealt with anxiety, or simply put - the hesitation in interacting with a group of people. These could be situations at work, in social circles or even within families that act as triggers, making one feel nervous or uncomfortable. Usually, such situations…

Vidya Heble has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and now writes and edits from her home near Mumbai which she shares with several cats. She shares her daily battle with depression and suicidal thoughts for over a decade and the stereotypes and stigma associated with it.  Wrath and tears, that is how it started. Sadness, feelings of desperation alternating with irritability that sometimes turned to anger. The symptoms were probably attributable to mood swings till past my…

Mala (not her real name) has been the primary caregiver for her brother Ram (not his real name) who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia for more than 15 years. Indra Venkatram writes about the challenges Mala faced as a sole caregiver in Singapore. About Ram Ram was a very bright and intelligent boy who did very well in school, studying in top secondary and junior college and also topping his cohort in his overseas university.  He was the pride of his family and had great plans for his…

Yuna Angell, who has schizophrenia, advocates it is important to be empathic and sensitive to people living with mental illness and advises how best to communicate with them. Although I have schizophrenia and depression, it still does make me feel awkward when people tell me they have mental illness. I’m at a loss as to what to respond afterwards sometimes. For me, I’ll just say, “Me too. I have schizophrenia and depression. How are you coping with your medication or counselling sessions?” I…

Dr G Kandasami, Chief, National Addictions Management Service (NAMS), Singapore, gives a comprehensive overview on alcohol abuse and addiction and suggests measures to reduce addiction problems. How do you differentiate between social drinking and alcohol addiction? Social drinking is just drinking for fun during social occasions and there won’t be any compulsion in one’s mind to continue drinking regularly. There won’t be any consequences to your drinking. You will not lose control over your…

Minu Budhia and daughter Preeyam Budhia, co-founders of Café ICanFlyy in Kolkata, a café which employs individuals with disabilities and empowers them to chart out their course in life, talk about the vision behind setting up this one-of-a-kind café in the country. Tell us about Cafe ICanFlyy. How did it take shape? Cosy, quirky, and certainly a labour of love, Cafe ICanFlyy is a 50-seater cafe run by individuals with special needs. Whether you’re making a quick stop for a cuppa, a short…

It is often misconstrued that people with schizophrenia are being lazy when they find it hard to continue with a job. Yuna Angell, who has schizophrenia, writes about her work experience at a fast food restaurant and what happened to her there. If you have schizophrenia, you will probably experience a LOT of delusions, some hallucinations, and you will also hear voices as symptoms of the mental illness. When you say you are “Feeling better”, it does not mean that you are ‘cured’. Honestly,…