Mental Health and Wellbeing

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…

Dr Avinash Joshi, a psychiatrist, has set up a marriage bureau for people with psychiatric and physical disabilities in the hope of providing them not just a soul mate, but also helping build a relationship on trust . You have started a marriage bureau for people with psychiatric and physical disabilities, the first of its kind in India. What spurred you to set up this unique initiative? I have set up a matchmaking site called, manomarriage.com for people with psychiatric and physical…

12% of people with diabetes have major depression, and about 10 to 20% have minor depression. In a new analysis, German researchers have found that reducing depressive symptoms does indeed help control blood glucose better and even increasing the probability of bringing HbA1C under to under 7.5. According to study investigator Andreas Schmitt, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the Research Institute of the Diabetes Academy Mergentheim in Germany, it could be that the less depressed people are,…

It can be formidable task to raise a child with either autism or schizophrenia. But when the two come together, the challenge escalates. Deepak Srivastava, recounts how his wife grapples with his 22-year-old son, Soumitra’s impulsive aggression. Our second son, Soumitra, was born autistic. We did not realize it initially; it was only when his growth milestones like walking or talking were not being met that we sensed something wrong. His behaviour pattern too was odd. He would stare awkwardly…