How to Prevent Depression

Dr Neena David, a Clinical Psychologist, emphasises the importance of developing positive coping skills, a sense of resilience and a growth mindset among adolescents and teenagers as they have long term positive mental health outcomes and stave off suicidal tendencies. You have many years of experience in setting up processes for school mental health programmes. What changes did you need to bring about in your programmes over the years? I am not sure I understand this question- ‘your programmes…

Parimal Pandit, Clinical Psychologist and Program Director, V-Excel Educational Trust Chennai describes the signs of depression to watch out for, how fathers and mothers react differently and how a special needs family can build resilience. 1.  A journey of a special needs parent goes through many ups and downs. What are the stages at which parents are most vulnerable? (Are these different for a mother v/s a father) When a child is diagnosed with a chronic condition or a…

Dr Divya Parashar Head of Rehabilitation Psychology at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre narrates what helped one of her patients, who was paralyzed waist down, come out of his self-imposed exile at home to face the world in a wheelchair.  “I don’t want to be seen in a wheelchair, and you can do nothing about it,” said a very determined Deepak (name changed to protect privacy), sitting in my office. A fever had rendered him paralyzed from waist down three years ago. Every morning, he would…

And QUIT SMOKING. Akhileshwar Sahay, a seasoned industry veteran, has been living with bipolar disorder for the last 2 decades. In this interview, he talks about his troubled journey with multiple chronic illnesses including COPD, Depression, Diabetes and his commitment to removing stigma related to mental illness.  How did your bipolar disorder start? What were the early symptoms? Bipolar disorder is not like influenza that it is diagnosed at once. Its roots are biological and I was…

Symptoms like weight loss, memory loss, weakness, and fatigue should not be mistaken as a sign of the"normal aging" process. Dr. Shital Patel explains 12 common but misleading symptoms in the elderly and why you should seek a doctor's opinion instead of ignoring them.  Symptoms in the elderly can have very different causes than they may have in a young person. Many symptoms in the geriatric population may be masked by concurrent chronic ailments, injuries, age-related physiological…

Vidya Heble has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and now writes and edits from her home near Mumbai which she shares with several cats. She shares her daily battle with depression and suicidal thoughts for over a decade and the stereotypes and stigma associated with it.  Wrath and tears, that is how it started. Sadness, feelings of desperation alternating with irritability that sometimes turned to anger. The symptoms were probably attributable to mood swings till past my…

Yuna Angell, who has schizophrenia, advocates it is important to be empathic and sensitive to people living with mental illness and advises how best to communicate with them. Although I have schizophrenia and depression, it still does make me feel awkward when people tell me they have mental illness. I’m at a loss as to what to respond afterwards sometimes. For me, I’ll just say, “Me too. I have schizophrenia and depression. How are you coping with your medication or counselling sessions?” I…

Dr G Kandasami, Chief, National Addictions Management Service (NAMS), Singapore, gives a comprehensive overview on alcohol abuse and addiction and suggests measures to reduce addiction problems. How do you differentiate between social drinking and alcohol addiction? Social drinking is just drinking for fun during social occasions and there won’t be any compulsion in one’s mind to continue drinking regularly. There won’t be any consequences to your drinking. You will not lose control over your…

Priya had for years allowed hypothyroidism and its related issues to get the better of her, till she finally turned around and decided to make lifestyle changes and battle it head on. This is the story of how she emerged a winner. Early Symptoms When I was a teen in the early 1990’s, my poor mother spent hours every morning trying to get me out of bed. I held my stomach or head, faking intense pain. I even locked myself in the bathroom, poured water into the toilet and simultaneously made…

Jack (name changed to protect identity) is a 60 year old man in Singapore who struggled with reactive depression and is now on the way to recovery. Background Jack was working and living a fairly uneventful life with his wife and 3 daughters, until an accident and surgery in 2006 left him with a hip problem that required him to stop working and undergo therapy sessions, plus put up with pain and restricted movement. Naturally this affected the family’s financial situation, but as his wife was…