Mental Health and Wellbeing

A film festival dedicated exclusively to mental health, particularly depression, is on this weekend in Pune with screenings of several award winning films. We speak to Anushri Thakar, Clinical Psychologist & Co- founder, TRIMITI Trust, who curated the Mental Health Film Festival (MHFF) to create awareness and build an inclusive society. MindScope, a festival of films focusing on mental health, seems unique. What was the inspiration behind it? Creating awareness on mental health is one of…

Swati Agrawal, who has Fibromyalgia, appeals to others in the community to start speaking about their invisible illness to raise awareness, remove prejudices and advocate for more equal and friendly world. If you have a story to share, write in to us. You can't see that I am unwell. You can’t tell that I have multiple Chronic Invisible Illnesses by talking to me, or by looking at me. I will tell you the customary "I am fine" to "How are you". This is the story of all spoonies. Our illness is…

Swati Neogy is not lazy. She has a condition called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which causes extreme fatigue, together with allied problems like body ache, hypertension and sugar level fluctuations and even partial memory loss. She has had to battle misleading perceptions, even by doctors. Finally she now accepts her condition and wishes to spread awareness. Swati, please tell us a bit about your condition  I am a patient of SEID/CFS (Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease/Chronic Fatigue…

Workplace can create its own pressures on a person to develop long-term mental health issues. A look by clinical psychologist Smriti Sawhney at how certain issues ought to be tackled in one’s professional space. “INDORE, India — Leaving his wife and two young children home on a recent Sunday, a 27-year-old salesman of a pharma company in India — in fact, one of the American health care company’s top performers there — rode his motorcycle to a remote railroad track and died by suicide. In his…

Reshma Valliappan, is a an artist-activist-author who believes her schizophrenia is an integral part of her identity. Here, she talks about her initiative, The Red Door, and the focus on the mental health of youth. Tell us about your concept of The Red Door and its various initiatives with the youth? The Red Door (TRD) is an initiative to create more awareness about issues of mental health in India. It is built on a simple concept of empowerment and inspiration through social media (blogs,…

Read the first person account of two suicide attempt survivors. We bring you these details especially to draw your attention to the fact that many suicides can be stopped and prevented by just a small quantum of compassion and consideration shown by family and friends. A desire to be heard without judgement is the common theme that emerged from both survivors. Trigger Warning First Interview Interview of a teenage girl with a helpline team after her third attempt at suicide. What brought you to…

Its often fairly simple to save to help someone who may be in distress and considering suicide. All the person needs is someone who will listen to them in a non-judgemental fashion and empathise with them. Call a friend. Listen to a friend. Save a Life.   #SuicidePrevention #StopSuicide     Not sure if your friend is depressed. Read about the 5 surprising and overlooked signs of Depression or check out the Infographic on Signs of Depression       

An estimated 2 lakh Indians take their life every year and not less than 25 times of this number attempt suicide. Akhileshwar Sahay, bipolar survivor and mental health leader, has embarked on an ambitious initiative, Zero Suicide Mission, to eliminate suicides from India. In this interview, he charts out the roadmap for his mission.    What is Zero Suicide Mission? Zero Suicide Mission seeks to eliminate suicides and suicide attempts from India.  It seeks to overturn the status…

Sweta Tiwary is a Volunteer, Mentor and Trainer at Connecting NGO, a Pune-based organisation working for the cause of Suicide Prevention. She shares with us various facets of a person in distress and how friends and family can support him/her. Sweta, you are at the end of a toll free line – how many calls do you get daily on an average? What is the objective of a Helpline? The Helpline numbers (9922004305* and 9922001122) are operational from 12noon* to 8 pm everyday. During these 6 hours, we…

There are no short cuts to optimal well-being. Holistic Self-Care requires that we focus on all five aspects of our life.    To achieve lasting happiness and optimal well-being – towards personal fulfillment, transformation and self-realiszation, one needs to devote time on a regular basis (preferably daily) to engage in the renewal of all aspects of our lives – physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual. It means taking care of ourselves, holistically…