PatientsEngage General Community

The Velvi Art for Autism Festival is a unique and exciting confluence of nationally and internationally renowned artistes and the autism community to celebrate talent and culture, make friends and have fun. We bring you feedback of the participants - youngsters and their parents - and details on this year’s Festival held over three days in Bangalore recently. Like every year, the Velvi Art for Autism Festival 2017 held in Bangalore recently was ushered in with much anticipation and fanfare. The…

There are no short cuts to optimal well-being. Holistic Self-Care requires that we focus on all five aspects of our life.    To achieve lasting happiness and optimal well-being – towards personal fulfillment, transformation and self-realiszation, one needs to devote time on a regular basis (preferably daily) to engage in the renewal of all aspects of our lives – physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual. It means taking care of ourselves, holistically…

The recent incident of a mother in Bengaluru causing the death of her disabled child has stirred many reactions and caused a lot of introspection in families with disabled children. But what of the larger community? Did we give it a moment? What can we do? What should we do? During a conversation in a little cafe in Chennai with some of the early contributors of PatientsEngage, people associated with VidyaSagar, an organisation for children and adults with special needs, the commonly held…

Dr Avinash Joshi, a psychiatrist, has set up a marriage bureau for people with psychiatric and physical disabilities in the hope of providing them not just a soul mate, but also helping build a relationship on trust . You have started a marriage bureau for people with psychiatric and physical disabilities, the first of its kind in India. What spurred you to set up this unique initiative? I have set up a matchmaking site called, manomarriage.com for people with psychiatric and physical…

Health is paramount to life and necessitates the body and mind to be in good shape, irrespective of age, gender, background or profession. We did a random survey of people who do some form of exercise regularly to find out what fitness means to them. Here are some of their answers that will inspire healthy living. Snigda Vakharkar, 36/F  Medical doctor Fitness means LIFE for me. Can't imagine a day without exercise...   Shivas Nath , 46/M  Sports industry educationalist …

Poesy Liang 小詩 is an artist who uses art to question and break down stereotypes. She survived 3 spinal surgeries and battled paralysis twice caused by a rare benign tumour in her spinal cord (thoracic intradural meningioma).This is her speech made during the media conference to open the exhibition for Arts Beyond Sight feat in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  "I’d like everyone to relax, don’t look at your phone, close your eyes. Relax, it’s okay. Close them. Let your eyes take a minute break…

And the mistakes people make when dealing with people with disability and hidden illnesses. Aarthi Sampath who has Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy shares her some of worst experiences of being a wheelchair user. I am quite accustomed to people staring at me, curiously, inquisitively. They often wonder whether I have polio as awareness of other illnesses leading to paralysis  is limited. So I have to face inane questions like, “Did you get some fever which paralysed you?” “Did you visit a…

With the population of elderly persons, above 60, increasing substantially, the need for comfortable, well-equipped retirement homes, a relatively new concept in India, has arisen. Here is a 14-point checklist to help you choose the best assisted living home to ensure a safe, healthy and happy stay. Check it out: Ideally, find a home that has guest-room facilities where you can stay for a few days. This will allow you to check out whether the lifestyle will suit you. Plan to stay for at least…

By maintaining a healthy gut or gastrointestinal tract, you can ward off a host of uncomfortable symptoms like bloating, flatulence and constipation and conditions like bowel cancer, Depression and IBS. Tips from Nutritionist Kohila Govindaraju. The importance of gut health Gut health is important. The health of the body starts with the gut to help reduce the risk of conditions like bowel cancer, constipation, etc. The food you consume is broken down to fats, proteins, and simple carbohydrates…

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. Art and craft is a source of healing the mind and body. Creative pursuits can be transformed into healing arts, which, in turn, transform you. "He who works with his hands is a laborer; He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman; He who works with his hands, head and heart is an artist." Francis of Assisi The healing powers of…