Tag: mentalhealth

The Versatile Sushant


Sushant was definetley a gem that we all lost recently. He was not only a good actor but was also a multitalented human being.
He was born in Patna, to Krishna Kumar Singh and Usha Singh. He was the eldest in the family and has four elder sisters.
The actor lost his mother at a very young age and was devastated. He was very close to her. He often posted about her and said how much he missed her.
Sushant was a bright student with excellent academic career. He secured 7th rank in AIEEE and got admission in Delhi college of engineering in 2003. He was also a winner of national Olympiad in Physics.
During his studies he also joined dance classes and also acting classes. He always knew what made him happy and what was he meant for. In 2006 he dropped out of college and devoted his full time for his acting career.
He made his television debut with the role of Preet Juneja in the serial ‘Kis desh me hai mera dil’. Later he got fame with his role of “manav” in Pavitra Rishta.
Sushant was also part of dance reality shows like “Jhalak Dikhla Jaa season 4” and “Zara nach ke Dikha”.
Sushant had a passion for astronomy. He was curious about the world around. He loved computer gaming and coding.
Sushant also took Marshal art lessons from Allan Ami.
He gave supherhit movies such as M.S. Dhoni, Chichore and Kedarnath. Which were one of the finest movies in Bollywood.
He made his film debut with Kai Po Che along with RajKumar Rao. He also Assisted Mohit Suri in the filming of Raaz 2.
This is really a great loss to the industry. A man with such dynamic mind and talent deserved the world. But you never know what destiny holds for you. It’s rightly said that you never know what a person in going through. He may have million dollars with him or may own big car but your mental state is the only thing that gives you peace.

THE MENTAL HEALTHCARE ACT,2017

Mental health is as much as required for the wellbeing of people and for the betterment of nation as the physical health is. Now a day’s mental health is being talked about a lot! Do you know Law and mental illness go hand by hand? Unlike, any other field of medical science. Because the rights of PMI (person with mental illness) must not be neglected and mental illness being one of the leading causes of disability, must be curtailed. World health organisation has also taken effective measures to help people coping with mental illness. Mental health not only affects the health of the individual but leads to social problems like unemployment, broken families, poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, suicide and related crimes. It also hinders the productivity of the people. Chronic illnesses like diabetes, cancer, heart diseases, thyroid etc are linked with mental illness. Hence noticing the severity of the issue, government has taken several initiatives.

The mental health care act 2017 was passed on 7 April 2017 and came into force on 7 July 2018, to provide mental health care and services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote and fulfil the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services. The act repeals the Mental Health care act, 1887. One of the main objectives of this act was to comply with the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2007. The United Nations Convention for Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which makes a paradigm shift from considering mental illness a social welfare concern to a human rights issue, requires the laws of the country to align with the convention to which India is a signatory. The new act was enacted as the existing act does not precisely protect the rights of mentally ill people.

NEED OF THE ACT: –

According to a study conducted by WHO for National Care of Medical Health (NCMH), at least 6.5% of the Indian population suffers from some serious form of mental illness. Though there are effective measures and treatments available, there is an extreme shortage of mental health workers like psychologists, psychiatrists, and doctors and mental health care centers. The average suicide rate in India is 10.9 for every Lakh people. India, hence undoubtedly declared the most depressed country in the world. Mental health is considered different from general health as in certain situations mentally ill people may not be in a position to make decisions by themselves. Mentally ill people are considered as a danger to society as well. Those who suffer rarely get access to medical help as mental illness is still treated as social stigma. After the infamous Erwadi fire incident of 2001, when 28 inmates of a faith-based mental asylum died in the fire, the need to have an act which will recognize and widen the rights of mentally sick people and to provide better care to them, was felt more than ever.

There is a dynamic relationship between the concept of mental illness, the treatment of mentally ill and the law.  Unlike any other field of medical science, psychiatry and law are co related. You have not heard about health care act related to any other illness but mental health care act is required to protect civil, political, social, and economic rights of the mentally ill individual, including right to access to education, employment, housing and social security. 

The mental healthcare act is a crucial step taken by the government. The act ensures that all the people suffering from mental illness must have a right to live with dignity and must not be treated badly by the society and must not be discriminated or harassed. The act not only focuses upon treatment, but also focuses upon the reintegration of mentally ill people back to the society. After so many failed legislations, it can be said that, this act serves the purpose. With the establishment of several mental health care centres and availability of mental health care practitioners, we are awaiting to see the consequences.

IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE ACT:-

  1. Advanced directive – A major of sound mind can write an Advance directive (AD) as specified by mental health authority regarding his intention for the way he/she wishes to be taken care of by a particular person nominated representative (NR) in case he/she suffers mental illness later in life
  2. Nominated representative – There is a provision in this act for nominated representative by a mentally ill person. Any person can nominate a person as a nominated representative in writing in AD.
  3. Rights of mentally ill person – it talks about the rights of mentally ill persons like right of non-discrimination and right to confidentiality.
  4. Decriminalization of section 309 of IPC- after the commencement of this act, attempt to suicide is no longer an offence and the sufferer must be provided with help than to be sent to jail.
  5. Establishment of specific boards – this act says that, there shall be Mental health care boards at state and central level.
  6. Responsibility of other authorities – other government authorities like police must help patient in case they see they are neglected or mistreated by the family or other people and must take the patient to magistrate and medical practitioner.

MENTAL HEALTH; THE TRUTH

HOW IT STARTED

MENTAL HEALTH had been trending across social media platforms after the sudden demise of the Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput who chose to end his life. This incident occurred on 14th June 2020, when India was still under lockdown. Had this happened in a normal situation it would not have garnered this amount of attention probably. But this sent shock waves throughout the country as the actor had always been known to have a smiling face and charming self. There was no clue that he was so unhappy with himself and his life. His death awakes many questions on mental health, suffering, depression and nepotism in Bollywood. Many big names in Bollywood were trolled and blamed for indirectly killing him. Everyone on social media seemed concerned on mental health and even offered a lending ear to their friends and followers. They spoke about how mental health is as important as physical wellbeing and how everyone should support each other and spread only love and no hate. These were the same people who later on started trolling the Bollywood industry, star kids and other big names of the industry. Hypocrisy was very evident. Another disturbing aspect was that the actor’s family was not given privacy. News reporters were practically thrusting microphones and cameras under the nose of the family members of the late actor not allowing them time to even come to terms with their loss and grieve.  The irony was that on one side everyone was trying to be friendly, understanding and wanting to spread only positivity and love, and, on the other side trolling and blaming people and not giving space to the family members. The most traumatic part according to me was that the pictures of the late actor’s dead body started circulating on the internet. The police department had to officially announce that this is immoral and anyone found circulating these pictures will be punished. Some youtubers and news channels took it a level higher and started demonstrating how Sushant would have possibly hanged himself. This was not it, his personal life and relationships were also brought under public scrutiny this just made everything worse.

AN INSIGHT INTO MENTAL HEALTH

MENTAL HEALTH is still something which is not completely understood and accepted by our society. It is not given the attention and importance it deserves. According to the World Health Organisation, mental health is defined as –

“Mental health is a state of wellbeing in which an individual realises his/her own abilities, can cope with the normal stress of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his/her community.”

Any person no matter the age, gender, community, society, etc. is at a risk of developing a mental disorder. Financial status, fame or luxuries does not guarantee a good mental heath. Even a very successful and ambitious individual can develop a mental disorder.

MYTHS

There are some myths and superstitions regarding mental health that needs to be popped.

  1. Children are not affected by mental disorders: this is a big lie. As I have mentioned before, mental health affects anyone whatever the age or gender of that person. Children can also be affected based on their upbringing and their surroundings. The family background and environment will take a toll on the mental status of the child.
  • People with mental health issues are violent and unpredictable: we often have this misunderstanding that people who smile and laugh are happy and the ones who are sad are depressed. This is very wrong. Many studies have shown that people who are depressed tend to laugh at silly things and always try to have a smile on. They are friendly and jovial and in no means have an intention to hurt others.
  • Mental disorders are incurable: with proper medication and help mental disorders can be brought under control if not cured completely. But many people have been cured over time, a living and known example is actress Deepika Padukone. The right support and help can get you out of anything.
  • Personality weakness or character flaws cause mental issues, people can snap out of it if they want to: this is one of the most common myths that people have. Being lazy has nothing to do with mental health. Depressed people do not wish to stay that way, they do want to come out of it and enjoy life. They try their very best to be happy.
  • Mental health issues are rare: 1 in 8 people are affected with mental health issues. Most of the times we don’t realise that we have mental disorders or chose to ignore it, which is very wrong.
  • Having a mental illness means you’re crazy: this is completely false. Having mental health problems does not in any way imply you’re crazy, it just means you’re vulnerable.

TYPES OF DISORDERS

Here is the list of a few common types of mental disorders.

  • Anxiety disorder
  • Mood disorder
  • Personality disorder
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Eating disorder

CONCLUSION

All things considered, I would request every one to take care of their mental and physical wellbeing. In these trying times, we should support each other and move forward. Do not hesitate to seek help from professional and please don’t self-diagnose. Remember NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

REFERENCES

WHO

NIH

MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS OF COVID-19

Since the outbreak of Coronavirus, which has now reached the pandemic status, almost effected all first world, second world countries, the world is in the state of crisis, quite evidently. Millions of lives have been altered, on different levels. Concern, stress, fear all very natural and normal reactions to the uncertain situation unfolding so rapidly with different dimensions that we happen to find ourselves in.

Now, in the situation of the widespread disease with no cure people are fearing death and the government trying to intensify their efforts to manage the pandemic through collective public health intervention measures and common folks coming together to help, showing remarkable cooperation, one aspect is largely ignored, that of Mental Health.

Experts have advised us to ‘stay in’, making quarantine the most preventive measure, but staying in comes with a bonus, that of potentially long term detrimental impact on mental health.

Being a collectivistic culture highly dependent on socialization (social support and social connectedness) has been critical towards self-isolation and social-distancing and are reluctantly dealing with emotional, psychological, behavioral impacts. Confusion, frustration, stress, anxiety, PTSD all triggered by uncontrolled events of the ongoing crisis, moving from mainstream to largely ignored conditions like depression, self harm, unintentional or intentional harm to family members, helplessness, substance abuse, sleeping problems you name it!

We humans are social animals and we cannot stay in a confined area and communicate with just few people everyday we had a habit of meeting new people daily and engaging in new stuff every now and then and staying in homes has made a huge impact on all individuals. They are hoping for all of this to end soon so that they can move out of their houses and return to their normal lives. Some are scared that what if they will not be able to live the normal life again and this makes the minds uncertain of the near future. Apart from the lockdown for pandemic one must also believe that mental health is very important just to make sure one is happy not only from the outside but from the inside too and maintain peace.

People can manage mental peace and harmony through meditation, proper diet, healthy fruits and vegetables, learning new skills and exercising and most importantly following a proper routine. And also to check on one another if the other is doing fine or not. This will ensure that everyone is not just safe physically but are also having peaceful minds and if not communication can heal the gaps and make a person feel less burdened.

Workplace Wellness

The life of most of the working people basically revolves around their office and work. We go to huge buildings, sit at our desks all day, immerse ourselves in those laptops, and try to work relentlessly. Even when we reach home, all we can think about is the deadlines and targets that we have to achieve at work and what steps we are going to follow the next day to complete the tasks. Since most of us spend the majority of our time at work, it is given that the workplace environment plays an important role in both, our physical health as well as our mental health.

wellA healthy workplace is identified as the one where individuals feel valued and heard; a place that provides a positive workspace, and shows respect for all its members. As an employee, a manager, or even a CEO, you never should feel the toxicity oozing out of the place you have made your second home. Whereas a negative working environment is generally associated with depression and anxiety, harassment, and bullying among people in their prime years.

Risks to Mental Health at Workplace

  1. Workplace Stress – Workplace stress is caused due to rigid working hours. It could also be when the employees are unclear about the organizational goals they have to achieve and the tasks they have to accomplish or there is limited participation of employees in the decision – making and they have little or no control over their area of work.
  2. Lack of support – Colleagues often don’t support each other in decision making, there is poor communication between them. Even unproductive management practices and leadership qualities affect the employees in an organization.
  3. Inadequate health and safety policies – Managers and leaders often neglect the health and safety of their employees by overlooking the provision of necessary health policies.

Can we create a Mentally Healthy Workspace Environment?

In reality, creating a mentally healthy workspace environment is not as difficult as it seems. Good mental health is the key requirement for workplace wellness.

  1. Mental health should be promoted; there should be awareness and employees and employers should be able to talk freely about it.
  2. well2Employees should be provided with a clean, functional, and well-lit space and have a good working relationship with all staff. Employees should feel respected, appreciated, incentivized, and rewarded. Signs of intimidation, bullying, sexual harassment, and fear should be immediately checked out and necessary action taken.
  3. If a person has taken some measures to improve his mental health, others should support him. They could even take inspiration from him, and work on their own mental health.
  4. Counseling sessions could be organized for the employees letting them know where they could find help if required.
  5. There should be a provision of a comprehensive health insurance plan including smoking-cessation, weight-loss, and substance abuse programs.
  6. It takes two to make a healthy workplace. Employees should be in a position to be held accountable for their actions. They should come with a “can-do” attitude and be willing to support each other as well as management.

Image Courtesy: GOOGLE

“Not all scars are visible”- Mental health

You might consider yourself to be physically healthful but do you possess a healthy state of mind? How frequently do you consider mental pressure, anxiety or an ill mood? We all must be conscious of the point that a healthy mind as well as a healthy body, both are a part of what makes us whole. Consequently, looking after mental health is as fundamental as caring for the physical health.

A healthy mind encompasses the ability of individuals that allows him or her to withstand the stressful and troublesome situations of life, work productively and contribute their presence in the community. But multiple times people are not competent to look after what they think intense in their minds. That is when the mental disorder begins. A consequence of which they might suffer from depression, anxiety, autism, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, dementia and many more. These disturbances makes them feel sad and makes their mood low. They may face severe mood fluctuations of highs and lows and make them unable to cope with even simple life problems. They may face problems while concentrating and have reduced ability to think keeping them confused all day long.

Accordingly, factors that may affect mental health are:

  • Abuse: This may be physical, sexual, oral or psychological.
  • Physical indisposition: This includes diseases, injuries or other physical disabilities.
  • Social connections: Includes any separation, divorce, family loss etc.
  • Difficult characters: people who exhibit irrelevant behaviour, extreme lying, violence, inappropriate actions.

Have you ever heard about the terminology D.O.S.E?

If not, then this might surprise you as holding a healthy mind starts right here. D.O.S.E exists for Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins. Dopamine among the four is the fundamental chemical that emanate positive emotions in the body. Let’s understand how these chemicals function:

Dopamine: This is something that we can consider as ‘The Happiness Drug’. This motivates us towards our goal that we aspire to accomplish in our existences. Without Dopamine one never would have had the enthusiasm to achieve what they strive for, and the essential happiness We may also refer it to the slight joy that we feel in out day to day life.

How to retain a Healthy Mind?

Now as we know that a healthy mind prepares a happy mind, we also need to comprehend how to do so. A healthy mind is what helps us throughout our entire being therefore the following could be done for our mental health:

  • Being active: Exercising will support the physical as well as mental health.
  • Talk to yourself: Make time and efforts into bridging relations with yourself, keep telling yourself that You are worth enough.
  • Keep learning: Keeping the mind healthy; learning new skills, languages, sports, information etc. has proved constructive.
  • Quit the addiction: Healthy mind is related to a healthy body, any alcoholic or drug addiction would impede the situation.

An unhealthy mind is considered the worst place to be. This state of mind would make you either win or vanish. Make some time for your mind. Care for it and it would take care of you.

Yoga for seniors

When you come to old age, all the fancy aspirations are over, and you experience yourself as childlike again. But at a biological level, aging also results in the accumulation of cellular damage over time which leads to a progressive decrease in physical and mental capacity of the body. Familiar conditions in older age include back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, depression, heart disease, etc. so, if you are a senior and looking for some therapeutic practices to avoid these conditions, then you are at the right place! Yoga carries some low impact incredible poses that you can practice even in your nineties. In this article, I’m discussing yoga poses categorizing them on the basis of


•Standing yoga poses
•Laying yoga postures
•Sitting yoga postures


You can choose from the poses in terms of your present level of flexibility and medical conditions associated with your body. It is highly recommended to practice any yoga pose under the supervision of a verified yoga teacher. They can help you with the modification in the poses and customized it for your body.

Great years for fitness


Fitness is not only about looking good. If you wake up happy that’s enough to determine your health in many ways. Yoga cultivates a mind-body-emotion link, combines stretching with a deep breath, and develops relaxation. Practicing yoga in old age makes you touch some spiritual aspects along with its physical benefits. Yoga is one of the safest forms of exercise available for seniors with immense benefits.

Benefits of yoga for seniors


Although yoga has tremendous health benefits on the mind and body irrespective of the age of the practitioner, for seniors, the values of the benefits are more. Here I’m listing some benefits of yoga that seniors or old age people will easily relate to

Fitness and ability levels


Practicing yoga enhances one’s fitness level that results in an improved ability to do day to day work. There are numerous yoga postures available to strengthen the core and develop a strong foundation of the body. Yoga reduces the risk of falls in the case of seniors as it provides stability in the system.

Maintains equilibrium


Elderly people are often noticed with some unconscious movement of the body part, especially hand, yoga can help in improving this state of the body. Practicing yoga regularly creates equilibrium in the body and generates a certain level of awareness of the movements.

Improves flexibility


Yoga movements are so fantastic to generate an extra stretch in the body without causing any damage to the body. Flexibility in the muscles encourages the tissues to loosen and relax, which eventually helps to amplify their range of motion.

Encourage deep breathing


As yoga involves the coordination of breath and movements in the body, it results in expanding lung capacity to hold breaths for an extended period. Holding the breath for a longer period enhances the overall pulmonary health and respiratory function of the practitioner.

Bone strength


In elderly age, most people tend to have problems with brittle bones. Consistent practice of yoga can improve the weight-bearing power of the bones and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Some promising researches claim to improve bone density in the body by Yoga practices.

Alleviate anxiety and stress


Anxiety at an elderly age is not new to this generation. Yoga encourages mindfulness and calmness in the system and prevents the day to day stress through conscious breathing and meditation. Researchers claim that meditation stimulates memory centers inside the brain and reduces the risk of depression among seniors. Yoga activates the “feel-good” prefrontal cortex and boosts the emotional health of the practitioner.

Improved sleep quality


Sleep disturbance is a common problem among people of old age. Sleep deficiency at this age is linked to the increased risks of high blood pressure, heart strokes, diabetes, etc. Potential sleep ensures the removal of toxins from the body and allows the brain to function properly. Performing yoga daily can help to treat sleep disorders like insomnia, relaxing the tissues in the body, and encourages a better quality of sleep.

Yoga poses for seniors


No yoga pose is specially designed for a person belonging to a particular age. You can practice yoga at any age depending on your body limitations. Old age can be a miraculous part of life if you establish yourself in yoga. Yoga is one of those exercises which you can continue throughout all stages of life, as yoga itself is said to be the study of life.
As I mentioned that there is no pose specially designed for seniors, but if you are a beginner then it is recommended to start with some slow and light poses and then take it to the moderate level. Here are some beginners yoga poses for seniors to start with;

STANDING YOGA POSES FOR SENIORS

•Trikonasana (triangle pose)
✓ Helps to create a stretch in the hip and lower back region of the body
✓ Improve the balance of the body
✓ Regulates blood pressure

•Katichakrasana (standing spinal twist)
✓ Helps to produce movements in lower spine and neck
✓ Provides stretch in the arms, knees and neck muscles
✓ Ensures firm movements of the feet

•Vrksasana (tree pose)
✓ Strongest pose in maintaining balance
✓ Enhance hip and leg strength
✓ Provide stretch in the arms, legs, and centers of the body

•Tadasana (mountain pose)
✓ Sets the foundation for alignment of the body
✓ Improves sensibility of the body
✓ Corrects unconscious postural patterns

SITTING YOGA POSTURE FOR SENIORS

•Badhakonasana (butterfly pose)
✓ Regulates digestion by clearing the bowel movements
✓ Gives a stretch to the thighs, knees, and lower back region
✓ Removes stiffness and pain in the legs

CHAIR YOGA FOR SENIORS


Chair yoga or desktop yoga is in trend as it allows anyone to conveniently perform these asanas while sitting on the chair. Seniors can be benefited from chair yoga postures such as neck roll, spinal twist, temple rub, bending of arms and legs, and seated forward and backward bend. Benefits of chair yoga poses are:


•Relaxes the neck and removes stiffness in the back and neck region
•Alleviate fatigue and tension in the muscles
•Increase flexibility
•Coordinate body and breath movement and generates a sense of balance within the system
•Increase focus


Try doing these yoga poses under the supervision of a yoga teacher or your family members to prevent any damage to the body. The yoga routine can help you in spending your old age time perfectly without facing any health issue.

Mental Health: Children, Young People, and Families

Mental health is a widely overlooked aspect of a person’s health. People don’t consider it as important as their physical health, mostly because the injuries are not visible. However, they often forget that the signs are always there. Mental health problems are often directly proportional to the day-to-day happenings in our lives. Most mental health problems start developing at a very young age, but parents often ignore the warning signs. At such an impressionable age, children need to be taught about their mental well being too. It is imperative that we address the issue of mental health among children, young people, and families.

Children and Young People

It is seen many-a-times that the physical needs of a child are obvious, but his or her mental needs may be neglected. Even when the red flags are identified, there is a stigma associated with mental illness.

Some problems that children suffer from are ADHD, autism, anxiety, anorexia (eating disorder), depression, and bipolar disorder. Warning signs include intense mood swings, self-harm, substance abuse, sudden appetite loss, fidgeting, and continuous nightmares.

health

A few suggestions to nurture a child or adolescent’s mental health could include talking to them about their day; asking them if they are facing any problems at school. This strengthens your bond with them and they start trusting you more. As a parent, make sure that your ward eats a healthy and balanced diet, is physically fit, and takes part in outdoor activities.

Provide children with a healthy environment at home; a child should feel secure in his surroundings. Help them build their self-esteem and confidence while talking to them. Encourage their first steps towards new interests. This would enable them to open up more and express their feelings and doubts. And most importantly, don’t condemn them when they do something wrong. Instead, let them know their mistake and work together to improve it.

Families

It is obvious that an individual’s mental health problems will have consequences for others within his social networks and most importantly his family. When it comes to mental illness, the emotional and behavioral consequences for family members go largely ignored along with having a huge impact on their financial component.

menheal

Family life often becomes unsettled and unpredictable as the needs of the ill become paramount day by day. The afflicted often feels that he’s isolating those close to him. Children may find it difficult to understand why their parent is not his/her usual self. Therefore, many tend to blame themselves and grow up feeling abandoned, lonely, and isolated.

In case a family member suffers from a mental health problem, you should not let him feel dismissed and disregarded. Instead, you could try to understand what he is going through, his inner turmoil, and try to help him cope with that. Children need special care at this time as they are perplexed by the happenings in their lives.

You should try to mend the broken relations, leave the toxic people in your lives behind, and create a positive impact on others’ lives.

Image Courtesy: Google