Mental Health and Wellbeing

On  World Suicide Prevention Day, Paras Sharma, Programme Coordinator, iCALL Psychosocial Helpline, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) dispels some common misconceptions about suicide. 1.  People who talk about suicide don’t usually do it, they just want attention. Suicide is a call for help that went unanswered. It's a myth that those who wish to end their lives don't explicitly say so, and those who don't are the ones who talk. There is ample research to show that suicidal…

Five failed relationships and an elaborate suicide plan later, Thomas Heng finds out that life is worth living after all! Clinical Depression led him to almost jump off a building, further thoughts of which were thwarted by prolonged counselling sessions with a helpful psychiatrist By and large I see myself as a rather ordinary person, who happens to be approaching the fifth decade of his life. Yet 17 years ago, it could have all ended by personal choice. If you have ever been in an all-boy…

World Suicide Prevention Day 2016 Yuna Angell realises, after several attempts at suicide, that life is too sacred to be lost like this. She advises people with suicidal tendencies to reach out for help in times of desperation, because everyone matters in life. The two songs I love to listen to when I have suicidal thoughts are “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry and “Vincent (Starry Starry Night)” by Don McLean. I would read the lyrics online while I listened intently to the songs, encouraging…

At a recently held meet at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosurgery (NIMHANS), Bangalore, the key issues deliberated were employment possibilities for Persons with Disability due to Mental Illness. Mr Amrit Bakhshy, President, Schizophrenia Awareness Association (SAA) who attended the session generously shares the proceedings of the meet. Last month, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosurgery (NIMHANS) and Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) organized a National Level Expert…

Yuna Angell has coped with Schizophrenia and has also been in control of it for some time now. Here she recounts the regimen of her daily life, the accompanying stresses and the side effect of her daily doses of medicine and how does she cope with it all. How do I prepare for a work day, now that I have various things to do in my life right now, while changing my medications? I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia in 2004 and stabilised more or less in 2013. I was originally on 4mg Risperidone. But…

The Mental Health Care Bill, 2013 passed by Rajya Sabha recently has triggered an avalanche of reactions and opinions. While some have hailed it as a ‘landmark’ Bill with many progressive clauses, others have lambasted it fiercely and dubbed it ‘Politics of Health’ that has nothing to do with care. We bring you four key perspectives of Government, Caregiver, Medical profession and Patient to help you deduce fair evaluation and assessment. 1) Government The Mental Health…

By Dr. Mangala of Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) When a mentally ill person requiring help and treatment is discriminated against and is made to feel like an outcaste exactly when he needs maximum support, it is not only harmful for the individual but for society at large. Any community or society which is not inclusive and gives credence to stigmas and myths can never prosper and even advanced treatment gets defeated in the process. Advances in scientific research have brought…

A person with any illness should be empowered to have a say in their treatment plans and choices. And mental health should not be any different. Dr. Ramesh Kumar of SCARF explains what a Psychiatry Advance Directive is and why it must be executed despite the concerns. Psychiatry advance directives (PADs) is a document which outlines the patients’ preference in his treatment. This is executed when the patient has capacity, so that these directions can guide his treatment at a later…

Yuna Angell has been to the depths with her schizophrenic attacks. She had to be a caregiver when she needed caregiving herself, and her mother, in despair, even wanted to give her up to the psychiatric ward of the hospital. She has come a long way since and is now a mental health advocate in her own right, besides being an author with certification degrees from Harvard in medieval history.  I moved past the “only O levels” high school qualification recently with the basic counselling…

Amrit Bakhshy recounts his brave though agonizing journey of caring for his daughter, Richa, who developed schizophrenia as a teen in school and his tireless effort to build better lives for people with this mental disorder. Panic and Bewilderment A long distance call in early 1991, in my office at the World Trade Centre, Mumbai changed our lives forever. The caller was the principal of a well-known girls’ school in Dehradun, where my daughter Richa was a boarder. Richa had a sort of…