Mental Health and Wellbeing

Trveen Dhillon reviews Gayathri Prabhu’s intensely personal memoir of her conflicted relationship with her father who had depression ‘if i had to tell it again’ and relates to her own experience as a caregiver to her father. Gayathri Prabhu’s ‘if i had to tell it again’ is a memoir about two beings who greatly influenced her life and continue to do so even after their passing - her father, SGM Prabhu, who refused to accept or name his illness (clinical depression), and Chinna, a beautiful…

And how you can help. Clinical Psychologist H'vovi Bhagwawar has put together a guide on teen self harm and how parents can help their children. This is based on her experience of counselling teenagers. #WorldMentalHealthDay Myra, a bright Std 11 student, had begun withdrawing from her parents and friends. When she insisted on wearing long-sleeved outfits in the humid heat of Mumbai, her mother suspected something. Myra then showed her mother the cuts on her wrists. Her mother was at first…

Dr Ankit Patel, a Pune based psychiatrist, who himself has dealt with depression, says his mission now is to educate people about mental illness and reduce the stigma associated with it. According to World Health Organization 56 million people suffer from depression and another 38 million people suffer from anxiety disorders in India. Which would you classify as the 5 most common psychiatric disorders? Depression Generalised Anxiety Disorder OCD Panic Disorder Schizophrenia/ Psychosis Are…

Delhi hosted a Mental Health Festival recently which was a convergence of ideas and therapeutic activities related to mental health issues. Moyna Sen takes a look at the 2-day interactive session.  Two Mental Health Initiatives, The Red Door, Pune, and Bhor Foundation, New Delhi put together an interesting mix of events for a Mental Health Festival titled Merchants of Madness in Hauz Khas, Delhi, on 1st and 2nd September. The festival aimed to start a conversation on mental health between…

When R had suicidal thoughts and a feeling of hopelessness, she finally sought help and was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety disorder. Read on to find out how she coped with her illness and how it relates to chronic pain due to migraines and sinus. I am 39 years old and academically trained as an engineer. I lost my mom at a very young age. My childhood consists of first few years in USA and then later on in India.  I was diagnosed with severe depression along with anxiety…

And ways you can help someone dealing with Post Traumatic Stress. By H'vovi Bhagwagar, a Clinical Psychologist specialising in trauma therapy. 1.   Are some groups of people more prone to stress and anxiety after a disaster like floods? People with a current ongoing stressor (divorce, death, financial loss) etc People with past history of trauma (childhood trauma, survivors of previous accidents/riots/sexual assaults etc) People with previous history of mental illness or current…

Dr Neena David, a Clinical Psychologist, emphasises the importance of developing positive coping skills, a sense of resilience and a growth mindset among adolescents and teenagers as they have long term positive mental health outcomes and stave off suicidal tendencies. You have many years of experience in setting up processes for school mental health programmes. What changes did you need to bring about in your programmes over the years? I am not sure I understand this question- ‘your programmes…

...Life is precious - life is worth living."  reminds Yen-Lu Chow. When their son and only child Lawrence Chow ended his own life at the age of 26 after suffering for many years from manic depression, Yen-Lu Chow and his wife Yee Ling went beyond grieving and coping with the tragedy. They involved themselves in mental health initiatives in Singapore which have, in turn, given them a purpose in their lives. Tell us about your mental health initiatives in Singapore. Mental wellness is not…

Parimal Pandit, Clinical Psychologist and Program Director, V-Excel Educational Trust Chennai describes the signs of depression to watch out for, how fathers and mothers react differently and how a special needs family can build resilience. 1.  A journey of a special needs parent goes through many ups and downs. What are the stages at which parents are most vulnerable? (Are these different for a mother v/s a father) When a child is diagnosed with a chronic condition or a…

Dr Divya Parashar Head of Rehabilitation Psychology at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre narrates what helped one of her patients, who was paralyzed waist down, come out of his self-imposed exile at home to face the world in a wheelchair.  “I don’t want to be seen in a wheelchair, and you can do nothing about it,” said a very determined Deepak (name changed to protect privacy), sitting in my office. A fever had rendered him paralyzed from waist down three years ago. Every morning, he would…