Bad influences: On the Santoshi Shetty row, and damaging perceptions about mental healthcare in India
There is a long way to go until reliable mental health treatments including psychotherapy and medication are de-stigmatised. But if we keep blurring the boundaries of expertise, we might just be taking a step backwards.
For people living with trauma, the coronavirus outbreak can be a trigger, or familiar psychological territory
Trauma tampers with our ability to make sense of the world with the help of previously acquired templates. This is similar to living through a pandemic, where no one knows what events will transpire and what their outcomes will be.
Re-thinking productivity during the pandemic: Forced busyness is toxic; the will to achieve things must be organic
Capitalist culture has created an illusion of productivity by falsely connecting it with happiness. In such a system, if one isn't productive, one doesn't deserve to be content.
Coronavirus outbreak poses rising mental health concerns, as experts develop therapeutic frameworks to meet the challenge
Unfortunate outbreaks like the coronavirus pandemic are a lesson into public ableism as they provide an empathetic window into the lives of those who already live with psychiatric problems such as severe hypochondriasis (also known as illness anxiety disorder) and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Talking politics to children: Hiding truths is futile; honest, sensitive conversations can help build empathy
Talking to children is of utmost importance, not just to help them cope with what they may get exposed to directly or indirectly, but also to raise responsible, non-judgemental and inclusive human beings. If they are prevented from being exposed to conversations, they may become more vulnerable to biased information.
The mental health cost of an economic slowdown in India: 'My hope is dying, I feel isolated and depressed'
Many across the country are worried about the depleting state of the Indian economy. Despite being consoled by the Home Ministry, that it is temporary, the consequences of an unstable economy on psychosocial well-being cannot be overlooked.
Mental health in a time of national turmoil: Amid CAA protests, building resilience is key to healing from trauma
With the civil agitations and state crackdowns stretching over weeks now, could India be facing a possible mental health epidemic?
In India, one in seven suffered from mental illness between 1990 to 2017, new large scale state-wise study reveals
Between 1990 to 2017 one in seven people from the country have suffered from mental illness ranging from depression, anxiety to severe conditions such as schizophrenia, according to a study.
Transgender Persons Bill 2019 may cause more psychological harm than good with its stance on certification, 'self-perceived' identities
Psychology does not seem to agree with the regressive stand of the Transgender Persons Bill. The draft discusses the right to a ‘self-perceived’ identity, a term which is problematic in itself. Seeing gender identity as ‘self-perceived’ shows a collective failure to learn that identities are never perceived as separate entities, but rather lived
Cognitive biases and false memories: The psychology behind fake news and their spread in India
Fake news, a more systemised and tech-savvy methodology for rumours, has been strongly linked to people’s psychological mechanisms and their flaws, posing a danger to both individual and societal harmony.
On World Mental Health Day 2019, a look at how ignorance leads to pill-shaming and disempowers individuals
The idea behind putting an end to pill-shaming is to support the individual’s right to take care of themselves using means that are valid, reliable and universal
Should therapy be political? Influence of social factors on mental health may make a case for such an approach
Expressing politics through therapy ultimately means having a political opinion in the first place, before eventually recognising that the issues of the client who comes for therapy also have socio-political roots.
How community mental health can be the answer to India’s growing mental health crisis
Community mental health, also known as community psychiatry or community psychology, is a sub-discipline of psychiatry that offers a framework for working with people with mental illness who are marginalised by the social systems.
Reporting on mental health: Eschewing sensationalism in favour of sensitive, critical method is vital
Not only is the lack of sensitive reportage on mental health backfiring in many ways, it is also reinforcing the very social stigmas which are being spoken about.
Ammi: A documentary explores Najeeb Ahmed's disappearance, his mother's angst and JNU's alleged inaction
In Ammi, Sunil Kumar presents two facets of the story of Najeeb Ahmed's disappearance — the emotional, involving his mother Fatima Nafees, and the investigative, which tries to present the events of the case in a transparent manner
As mental healthcare remains inaccessible to most, narrative therapy provides an inclusive approach
Narrative therapy puts the therapist and the client on the same level, which allows the client to know that their choices are respected and that a safe space is available to them
Atasi, a documentary about mental health, shows the focus should be on the person, not the 'problem'
Atasi tells the story of a woman who battles years of emotional and physical abuse, and uses love as a strength rather than a solution to her mental health issues
World Health Day 2019: Accessibility to mental health care remains a major hurdle
The representation of non-Dalit/Adivasi communities dominates healthcare services in India both on the giving as well on the receiving end
Persecuted for being Pardhi: Members of this denotified tribe battle bias, daily harassment
Members of the Pardhi tribe in Bhopal have seen little change in circumstances four months after a woman from the tribe immolated herself allegedly due to police harassment
Turup: Chess, caste, religion come together in this film to make a compelling point
Chess, casteism and religion come together in a compelling cocktail in Ektara Collective's film Turup | #FirstCulture