PatientsEngage General Community

As fatalities due to Covid-19 continues unabated, conversations about death gain relevance. We speak with Dr Sneha Rooh, a palliative physician, who has hosted 32 Death Cafes for the purpose of talking about death. You have introduced a radically new concept to India in the form of Death Cafés. Could you tell us something about these Cafes and what really happens there? Death Cafes are places where strangers come together to talk about their experiences and thoughts about death, dying, caring…

हम सभी अब वर्क फ्रॉम होम (घर से काम करना) के आदी हो गए हैं, पर फिर से ऑफिस से काम करना तो शुरू करना ही होगा। वापस ऑफिस से काम करने की अपनी चुनौतियां होंगी। आइए देखें कि इस प्रक्रिया को आसान बनाने के लिए और सुरक्षित रहने के लिए कौन-कौन सी सावधानियां जरूरी हैं। काम करने के लिए आना-जाना: यदि आप सार्वजनिक परिवहन का उपयोग कर रहे हैं - जैसे बस या ट्रेन - तो हर समय मास्क पहने रहें, अपने आस-पास की सतहों को छूने से बचें, और सोशल डिसटेंसिंग - सामाजिक दूरी - यानि कि दो गज की दूरी बनाए रखें। दस्ताने पहनना…

We have to break the silence surrounding grief, especially around death by suicide, and learn to deal with sorrow in a healthy and sensitive manner, writes psychologist Chandra Ramamurthy. I am a Clinical Psychologist by training. I lost my son, Naman Dutt, age 17 years, by possible suicide. The reason why I say possible suicide is because the circumstances of his death still baffle me. Naman was diagnosed with depression and though I have seen severe clinical depression in my practice, I never…

When the lockdown was announced,  Pradnya and her family of 8 people made elaborate plans to limit movement, adopt safety measures to protect the two elderly people in the family. But despite their best efforts, one by one they started developing symptoms. Read about their ordeal and how they coped and survived Covd-19 in Mumbai.       Covid-19 has really taken over our lives, hasn’t it? It doesn’t need to though. These are really difficult times on us, and the very…

Usha Jesudasan, who is affected by polio, diabetes and breast cancer and is an author of many self-help and inspirational books, talks about Covid-19 lockdown woes and how this is the best time to make those changes we would like, but never get round to doing. Covid-19 crept up on us didn’t it? I saw the heart breaking numbers of people dying, rising every day in Italy- it was so far away from us. Then suddenly one day it was in our midst. On the first Sunday of the lockdown, when the Prime…

क्या आप जानते हैं कि संकट होने पर एम्बुलेंस बुलाना कब उचित होगा, और कब आप टैक्सी से या अपनी गाडी ड्राइव करके अपने लिए या प्रियजन के लिए अस्पताल जा सकते हैं? इस लेख में डॉ शीतल रावल बताती हैं कि सही विकल्प चुनने के लिए किन पहलु ओं पर ध्यान देना होगा। जब कोई मेडिकल संकट होता है, तब तुरंत उचित सहायता प्राप्त करना अत्यंत आवश्यक है! कभी-कभी लगता है कि आपात स्थिति में एम्बुलेंस बुलाने के बजाए खुद ही क्यों न तेजी से गाड़ी चला कर अस्पताल चले जाएँ?। हालाँकि यह कुछ स्थिति में बेहतर हो सकता है, पर अन्य…

While all of us have now gotten accustomed to working from home, returning to office is inevitable. However, this will come with its own set of challenges. Let’s look at what precautions one can take to ease this process and stay safe. Travel to work: If you are using public transport such as a bus or train, keep your mask on at all times, avoid touching your face and surfaces around you and follow social distancing norms. Wearing gloves is a good choice. Don't touch your face during the…

Dr Avinash De Sousa, consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist, talks about how bereavement counselling has become crucial in the times of Covid -19 to deal with sudden deaths and inability to mourn satisfactorily. In times of the Covid pandemic, terms like grief therapy and bereavement counselling have gained significance. Could you tell us a little bit about these concepts? Grief Therapy is a form of therapy which is administered by means of counselling or psychotherapy to an individual who…

Healthy donors are encouraged to continue donating blood despite pandemic because there are still patients in hospitals in need of blood transfusions and blood components, maintains Dr Lalit Dhantole, Consultant/Head Transfusion Medicine, Fortis Hospitals Mumbai The Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected lives in all sectors. How have blood banks been impacted? As far as blood donation is concerned, blood donors are the backbone of effective blood transfusion services. Lockdown due to Covid-19…

It is crucial to root out stigma and discriminatory behaviour linked to coronavirus disease and death and restore emotional connection and compassion to build a stronger community to fight the crisis together, writes psychotherapist H'vovi Bhagwagar. What happens to us when we watch a movie of the “Pre-COVID times” where people are jostling in a metro, or crowding supermarkets or hugging to greet each other? Doesn’t our brain automatically say, “Hey that’s wrong!” What earlier seemed so natural…