Mental Health and Wellbeing

A handy list of resources for living with the coronavirus and managing your chronic conditions. Just look for your condition below. If you don't find what you are looking for, please leave a comment and we will get back to you.     We must live with Covid-19 pandemic for a while. For people with chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, rheumatic conditions, pulmonary conditions, it is even more essential to manage these conditions better. For e.g. a…

Kavita Chaddha has multiple issues which she handles in the course of a day wth proper medication, a healthy diet and the right exercises. She talks about how she juggles her life, home and work in the course of a day Hi! I am Kavita Chaddha, diagnosed with Scleroderma (an autoimmune disease) in 2009 by a rheumatologist.   I am bipolar too. I am also a working professional (Librarian), a wife and a mother of a 9-year-old girl. I am a doctoral student too. My life is four-dimensional –…

Emotional Resilience for Persons with Disabilities and persons with chronic conditions with Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychologist Divya Parashar. This was in the context of the COVID pandemic but there are lessons in there for all times. We talked about What is emotional resilience Anxieties faced by people with disabilities What is psychological resilience What makes people resilient How to build psychological resilience Effects of suspension of therapy due to covid How to overcome…

Psychotherapist H'vovi Bhagwagar points out that today an increasing number of Indian men are feeling the pressure of gender role strain and need to be motivated to seek help for mental health issues. These issues are likely to be accentuated during the covid19 pandemic, the lockdown and the economic downturn. The stigma associated with therapy is a global phenomenon, and for a very long time it was believed that therapy was only for the very disturbed, poverty-ridden, drug addicts and the…

Sleep disorders may make a person more vulnerable to psychiatric illnesses, intensify the severity of the symptoms points out Dr Nileena N.K.M, Specialist in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, and stresses the importance of better sleep for better life. Plus Tips For Good Sleep. What is the correlation between mental health and sleep? Sleep and mental health go very much hand in hand in our day to day life. Many of the psychiatric illnesses are seen to be associated with sleep complaints and…

Mental Health is an increasing concern during Covid-19 due to restrictions, extended lockdown, distancing - social and physical. PatientsEngage and CMHLP - Centre for Mental Health Law & Policy are hosting a webinar series on ‘Mental Health During COVID-19’  COVID-19 is stressful for all of us especially in the context of the extended lockdown. There is a lot of uncertainty, confusion and fear around this lockdown and social distancing. On Monday 20th April 2020, 4pm IST…

There is increased evidence and understanding that chronic digestive disorders like IBS, IBD and gastrophageal reflux cannot be separated from the psychological wellbeing of a person. In light of this, we spoke to Dr. Naresh Bhat, a pioneering gastroentrologist and Dr. Girish Chandra, a Psychiatrist.    Dr. Naresh Bhat, Chief of Gastroentrology, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru There are several disorders which are referred as Gut Brain Axis or Functional GI disorders. They can affect…

As the global covid-19 pandemic spreads and a lockdown is in place, how can a person with Bipolar Disorder cope with the situation? Vijay Nallawala, founder Bipolar India shares his tips on managing pro-actively.   “When will this end? How much more devastation will it cause? Will my family and I be able to survive this?” Who would have thought that a mere virus could have shaken the world to the core?The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the world, including India, unlike any…

Shikha Aleya, who has dealt with anxiety, shares her experience of accepting the changed scenario due to Covid-19, her self-care routines and coping strategies that address the various aspects that matter to her.  I understand anxiety having worked through it over decades. First I suggest we accept that a certain degree of anxiety has its place in this scheme of things. What is that degree? To the extent that you are okay with it, understand it and are holding space for yourself. I choose…

Insurance companies need to take more initiative and devise different medical insurance packages and products to cover mental health disorders, stressed most speakers at a recent conference organised by Poddar Foundation. With mental health disorders having risen significantly over the last few decades and causing considerable burden and financial stress on the individual and the society as well, it has become imperative to institute the right and proper kind of packages of insurance for mental…