Rangashri Kishore, Dean of Library Services in Andhra Pradesh, talks about her unique initiatives and rehabilitation centres for the mental health cause. You are a Dean of Library Services at Krea University, Chittoor, by profession and also a mental health worker by avocation. Which aspect of mental health has been your area of concern? Mental Health is one of the most neglected aspects of health. Schizophrenia and other disorders such as bipolar disorder can be difficult to manage in family…

Join us tomorrow Saturday 12th October 2019 for an insightful session where we discuss the role of personal choices in shaping personalities and self assertion among persons with disabilities. How did their families support  push the barriers to become independent and create possibilities? Topic Choices and decision making builds self esteem and shape personalities of people. Persons with disability are no different. They have the right to make life choices. Irrespective of the type…

The theme for World Mental Health Day 2019 is Suicide Prevention. WHO recommends Gatekeeper training as a way of involving adults in the community in order to prevent suicides. PatientsEngage finds out the options for Gatekeeper training in India According to a study in The Lancet in 2018, suicide was found to be the leading cause of death among those aged 15-29 in India. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB, 2016) also reports that the youth population (18-30) forming the…

Dr. Rohini Patil, a gynaecologist and a 17 year breast cancer survivor from Nagpur was shocked at the lack of awareness about breast prosthesis after mastectomy. She decided to do something about it. Tell us a little about how Knitted Knockers Nagpur  came into being. India is seeing an increase in the incidence of cancer, more worrisome is its increase incidence in the younger population. In India 1 in 22 women have a life time risk of getting diagnosed with Breast Cancer, this is…

Movie going can be an inclusive experience accessible to persons with disability.  Sangeeta Robinson, Head – Sustainability & Inclusion, PVR Limited shares how PVR Cinemas is making various infrastructure modifications and installing assistive equipment and devices to make the movie going experience more supportive and inclusive. Could you tell us about the PVR Cinemas recently launched Accessible Cinema Program? The Accessible Cinema Program #Cinema4All was introduced in April, 2018…

Pain is one of the most disturbing and feared complication of cancer. Therefore, it needs to be addressed at all costs. Excerpted from newly published book – ‘Conquering Pain’. During her last admission to hospital, three weeks before she finally succumbed to leukaemia, thirteen-year-old Ms M.A. was in severe pain due to multiple reasons: Ulcers in the mouth and painful inflammation of the face, as a result of the side-effects of chemotherapy Bone pain in the legs, due to the disease affecting…

A full day conference organised by Schizophrenia Awareness Association in Pune covered a wide range of issues that impact caregivers of persons with mental illness and provided a platform for fellowship among caregivers and other stakeholders. The Schizophrenia Awareness Association-SAA, organized a full day, All India Conference of Caregivers of Persons with Mental Illness – CAME,in Pune on Tuesday, the 10th September 2019 in memory of its Canada based founder Dr. Jagannath Wani, a caregiver…

Youngsters can sometimes feel responsible for actions and events around them. Often it is a transient phase but sometimes it can be a cause for concern. Archita Bhalotia, mental health Counselor based in Mumbai, specialising in teens and adolescents with special needs, distils these for parents and why they should be addressed pro-actively.  What is shame? How is it different from guilt? Shame, when simply put, can be understood as one of the uncomfortable feelings of being flawed or…

On World Photography Day, we share how photography has provided therapeutic benefit to cancer patients of all ages, helped increased self esteem and self confidence and stimulated emotions and intellect of the visually impaired.  Geetha Paniker, a breast cancer survivor, shares her views on how various forms of creating art, and even photography, can heal both the mind and the body. I truly believe that photography is an incredibly powerful therapy to heal oneself. It is a passion that…