Mental Health and Wellbeing

Nandini Murali, author of Left Behind: Surviving Suicide Loss, talks about the death of her husband by suicide, her voyage through the oceanic grief and her intervention strategies that kept her firmly buoyant. Read the second part of her interview. Read part one here. Has writing the book Left Behind: Surviving Suicide Loss, after the death of your husband, been a healing and cathartic experience for you? Oh absolutely! It has been transformative. I experienced great joy and satisfaction when…

Nandini Murali, author of Left Behind: Surviving Suicide Loss, talks about the death of her husband by suicide, her tumultuous and transformational phase and her attempt to build informed conversations on suicide. We speak to her about her experience and the book. In the second part of the interview she speaks about her healing process. Your book Left Behind: Surviving Suicide Loss is said to be ‘one of the most emotionally courageous books to come out in recent times’. What were your driving…

How To Help Children Deal With Pandemic Stress, Anxiety And Reduced Socialisation? A two part webinar series in English and Hindi with experts from MPower  The pandemic is affecting a lot of us emotionally. However the emotional wellbeing of children is often overlooked. Kids and teens have hardly played or interacted with their friends. They have spent months looking at screens for long periods of time. This is affecting their health in many different ways and creating conflicts and…

परमीत कौर सोनी मेंटल हेल्थ फाउंडेशन, कोलकाता  में कंसल्टेंट  क्लिनिकल साइकोलॉजिस्ट हैं। इस लेख में वे बताती हैं कि जब परिवार के किसी सदस्य या करीबी रिश्तेदार को कोविड का निदान मिले तो परिवार के अन्य सदस्य बच्चों को स्थिति से जूझने में सहायता  कैसे कर सकते हैं। हमें ऐसा कई बार देखते को मिलता है कि जब परिवार में किसी को कोविड हो तो सभी उम्र के बच्चों की चिंता अधिक बढ़ने लगती है, यहाँ तक कि उनमें असुरक्षित महसूस करने के कारण चिपकू होने की प्रवृत्ति भी बढ़ जाती है। हमने क्लिनिकल…

We are all struggling with various issues during this second wave of the pandemic. PatientsEngage has started a live webinar series every Tuesday (English) and every Thursday (Hindi) at 7pm IST with experienced counsellors who will help us understand what we are going through and share practical and actionable tips on what we can do about it. In the first of the series on 11th May 7pm IST, we spoke with experienced Psychologist Hvovi Bhagwagar on what we can to deal with the negative news…

Sangeetha Param, 26 a mental health advocate continues to deal with depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and has survived suicide attempts. She talks about her relapses and her inner struggles to stay afloat. She is also a motivational speaker.  **Trigger Warning - reference to self harm** Sangeetha Param had previously shared her journey from diagnosis to mental health advocate here  How did the latest relapse begin? Was it sudden or gradual? The relapse…

Jumana Rajkotwala, Counselling Psychologist addresses questions on the challenges faced by children especially in pandemic times and the steps parents can take to help children be healthy and feel connected in these times.  What according to you are the biggest challenges that children face today? Children, in recent times, have limited physical activity and increased online interests, this has taken a turn for the worse during the pandemic as kids have been stuck at home. One of the…

Depression and chronic conditions have a cyclical effect. Those with chronic illness are more susceptible to it and those with depression have a higher risk of other medical issues. It is important to prioritize physical self-care such as exercise, sleep and nutrition, exercise in order to break this cycle and push away the black cloud of depression.   1. Exercise as an anti-depressant 2.Sleep Routines For Mental Health 3. Importance of Good Nutrition     For more details read…

Samiksha Sivan, integrates her experience at PDMDS to talk about some of the negative emotions felt by caregivers of persons with Parkinsons and the how they can cope with the negative emotions like anger, resentment, guilt and anxiety. Dealing with a chronic, progressive condition like Parkinson’s disease (PD) can take a significant toll on a person, be it a caregiver or a patient. Being able to cope with everyday tasks at home and work as well as the stresses of caregiving for a Person with…

Sejal Jobanputra lost her father to suicide at a time when she herself was grappling with a number of health issues. Even after a decade, she finds it difficult to come to terms with the tragedy. What were your immediate thoughts when your father died by suicide? Immediate thoughts were random hopelessness. Why? Could I have prevented it? Was I a burden? That time I had 2 catheters around my neck for dialysis. I had just become deaf a few weeks ago, possibly due to amikacin medicine’s side…