Mental Health and Wellbeing

The unquiet mind Can you be with this one breath, This moment, this now?  —Paul Salmon Mindfulness is defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts, as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”1 This rests on the simple idea that sorrow or distress is caused by not living in the moment, or feeling bad…

By Vedika Aum, an ongoing survivor of depression Just let the light in... Don't block it Don't hide from it Don't look through it with unseeing eyes Don't shut it out Don't run from it Don't turn your back to it Don't create illusions nor excuses to avoid it Don't let your darkness become your comfort Don't swim in pools of self pity - sympathy - self righteous pain or martyrdom stop wearing them as a medal a crown No don't even run to it... Don't rush towards it Be gentle with yourself Be kind…

Tai Chi, the ancient martial art from China, may be widely known as a self-defense art, but has abundant health benefits that can help cure ordinary ailments to life threatening diseases, says Tai Chi guru Carlton Hill.  What is Tai Chi? How is it different from other martial arts? Tai Chi Chuan or Taijiquan is a five thousand year old martial art practised in China. Though, in present times, it is mostly practised for its health benefits. Tai Chi Chuan is unique because one can…

By Vedika Aum, an ongoing survivor of depression. The image is of a sketch by Vedika depicting bursting forth through the darkness I live I laugh I create I think I learn ...and I question I meet silence I question again and am told to be silent Watch in silence Obey in silence Silence your thoughts,  your questions I face deafening silence within and without The silence implodes bursting without in destructive expression                …

Changing the emotional response towards women with mental illness is what mental health activist Ratnaboli Ray, and her organisation, Anjali are trying to do. Here in conversation with PatientsEngage: A WHO report mentions that gender differences occur particularly in the rates of common mental disorders like depression and anxiety. These disorders, in which women predominate, constitute a serious public health problem. How do you address the concept of gender parity as far…

Reshma Valliappan, also known as Val Resh, is an artist-activist for a number of issues related to mental health, disability, sexuality and human rights. She lives with schizophrenia without medication and provides the early voice and leadership for persons living with mental illness to speak and advocate for their own rights. PE: As a mental health activist, what are the gender based differences you have seen in terms of access to diagnosis and treatment? As a woman, it is so…

A poem on incarceration by Jhilmil Breckenridge If you stare out of a barred window across  A bleak garden some September morning If the neem tree in the garden reminds you of home Vast, old, timeless If you remember playing under a neem tree in Allahabad And you can almost hear the laughter of children as they play In the heat of a sultry afternoon in June And because the window is small and barred and cannot open Because you want to breathe freedom Because you want to shower without them…

To address misconceptions and concerns about employment for people with mental health issues, we speak with Dr Mangala, a consultant psychiatrist with SCARF (Schizophrenia Research Foundation).  Could you please explain what in medical parlance is known as ‘Mentally ill or Mentally Disabled’? Are these labels useful/helpful? A disturbance in one’s ability to think, behave or express feelings is termed as mental illness. When someone lacks the ability to:  meet or fulfill basic…

Although characters portrayed with mental illness have progressed from the Victorian era, more novels with believable and real protagonists need to be authored, says writer, poet and activist Jhilmil Breckenridge.  If you say you have diabetes, people engage, ask about your medication, and say, oh you should not be eating rice, or potatoes, and so it goes. But if you say you have schizophrenia, for example, there will be an uncomfortable hush, as though you have just…

Traumatic events bring new problems in their wake. Porrselvi A.P. talks about dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) The scars of a calamity, such as the recent Chennai floods, are not always visible. Physical needs, like rebuilding a home, going back to work and keeping infections at bay, require a lot of effort but are usually managed well by the survivors within one to six months following the event. It is generally assumed that people are then back to their normal lives and have…