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Tag: Mental Health

  • Social Media – Frankenstein Resurrected?

    Social Media – Frankenstein Resurrected?

    Is Social Media A Boon Or Bane? The Eternal Debate Continues In The New Netflix Documentary-

    Jeff Orlowski’s Docu-Drama ‘The Social Dilemma’ Does Not Tell Us Anything New….We Have Known Both Sides Of Story For Long….What It Does Is To Reinforce The Arguments – Primarily Against Social Media Giants. 

    The Documentary Has Two Distinct Tracks. The First Track Features Interviews With The Most Smartest And Conscientious Employees Of The Big Tech Giants. The Second Track Showcase A Fictional Story – How Social Media Manipulates & Ruins Kids Of A Perfectly Normal American Family.  

    The Great Minds Of Silicon Valley Include:

    1. Tristan Harris – Former Google Design Ethicist
    2. Justin Rosenstein – Co-Inventor of Facebook ‘Like’ Button
    3. Tim Kendall – Former Director of Monetization At Facebook, Former President Of Pinterest
    4. Renee DiResta
    5.  Jeff Seibert 

    These Interviews Highlight Risk Of Social Media Addiction. Social Media Giants Engineer Platforms To Create Addiction, Manipulate Behaviour & Reap Profits For Their Shareholders. The Dangerous Impact On Mental Health Of Children & Teenagers, Personal Privacy & Data Confidentiality Issues, The Rise Of Hate Crimes & Genocide, The Fuelling Of Fake News, Death Of Democracies Are Some Of The Negatives That Can No Longer Be Ignored. 

    The Documentary Considers Founders Of Social Media Giants To Be Trapped. Too Naive! Shareholders & Governments Are Human Beings – And Human Beings Have A Choice – But Are We Willing To Call Spade A Spade? 

    Social Media Is A Drug. Agree. It Is Challenging The Organised Religion – An Equally Dangerous Drug 🙂

    Why Our Best Brains Work For Biggest Social Media Companies? Agriculture Crisis Hits Headlines Every Year And We Have No Solution….Why We Applaud New Feature Upgrades Of Big Tech Giants While Many Genuine Research Organizations Die Every Year…

    Technology Is Neutral. A Gun In The Hands Of Police Protects, While In The Hands Of Terrorist Kills. 

    Social Media Has Reunited Families, Help Raise Awareness Of Evils, Found Blood Donors, Brought Joy To Our Life. But It Has Also  Led To Recruitment Of Extremists In Terrorist Organizations, Body-Shaming, Incited Crimes Etc. As Well. 

    Social Media Is Not 100% Evil Or The Only Evil. It Is Too Simplistic To Blame It For All Evils In The Society. Yes – It Is A Platform That Amplifies The Evil In The Society. Social Media Giants Are Taking Corrective Actions But We Need Neutral Champions To Review These Actions. 

    Practical Takeways:

    1. Regulate Screen Time For Self & Kids

    2. Do Not Take Devices To Bedroom

    3. No Devices For Kids Till High School

    4. Research & Question Sources Of Information

    5. Explore Alternatives To Big Social Media Products

    6. AI Is Already Running The World

    I Believe Our Ethics, Values & Choices Drive The Usage Of Any Technology. Social Media Can Be An Agent Of Good. Let’s Switch Off The Screens, Watch The Real World, Smell The Flowers & Drive A Positive Change. The Answers Lie With Us….

    Watch It – A Important Documentary To Watch. One’s Outlook Toward Mindless Scrolling & Notifications Will Change!

  • Quarantine Quarantine

    Quarantine Quarantine

    Quarantine Quarantine
    Life Is Fine
    Love, Friends & Family 
    Bring The Sunshine

    Quarantine Quarantine
    Ash-Virus Has Spine
    Purpose Idea Energy 
    Never Easily Decline

    Quarantine Quarantine
    Time Is Mine
    Revisit The Passion
    True Self Is Divine

    Quarantine Quarantine
    Priorities May Re-Assign
    Hear The Inner Voice
    Make The True North Align

    Quarantine Quarantine
    Fast Lane Is A Slow Line
    Treasure The Nostalgia Box
    Cherish Today’s Cloud Nine

    Quarantine Quarantine
    Doctors & Nurses Shine
    Officers & Helpers Serve
    Perspectives Will Surely Redefine

    Quarantine Quarantine
    Stock Markets Worry Top-line
    Healthy Mind, Fit Body, Children
    Are The Real Bottomline

    Quarantine Quarantine
    World Is Benign
    Love, Care & Help Overflow
    Human Hearts Are True Shrine

    Image: Sharon McCutcheon

    The article first appeared in Thrive Global – the leading media platform for health and wellness.

  • Judgementall Hai Kya Review – Rocking Performances In A Courageous Movie!

    Judgementall Hai Kya Review – Rocking Performances In A Courageous Movie!

    The new Bollywood is making brave choices and Judgementally Hai Kya is a shining example of the new experiments of Bollywood. It is a courageous movie – which will challenge you, divide you, confuse you! Better than ‘leave-your-brain-at-home’ cinema.

    Kangana and Rajkumar Rao are at the top of their game. Both play the characters with impeccable conviction and bring out the multiples shades of the quirky characters remarkably. It is an ode to Kangana’s art that she looks so natural in the role. Rajkumar is a perfect match to her.

    Kangana is suffering from acute psychosis and identity disorder. The troubled mind has a troubled past and a challenging present. Rajkumar Rao moves in as a tenant in the house with his wife – who is murdered. The movie catches edgy thriller style after the murder. The Ramayana theme is invoked in a modern style and Sita is seen as the victim of male violence. The movie keeps you guessing and your loyalties to the character are challenged again and again.

    The director is the real hero. He paints the pain and anguish of the characters with rich colours and textures. The change in the backdrop and the mood of the film between Bombay and London is nice and consistent. The conflict and the struggles of a troubled mind are beautiful depicted in the title song – noteworthy are the street art that complement the mood of the mind. Spot on!

    The director could not have asked for a better actor to demonstrate the anxieties and troubles of a psychotic mind. The scene where she explains that demons are following her – it affects you. She cannot trust anyone – the fall in the drama with Jimmy Shergill again explains the state of mentally unstable mind.

    Kangana’s current off-screen controversies and perennial persona helping in adding richness to the character. Is she giving message from her real life – domestic violence, misunderstood, feminine voice? Who is the real mad?

    The movie has its flaws. The second half is problematic. The Jimmy Shergill track is not given the proper treatment. The finale could have been better.

    The jury is out on the choice of using mental health patient as the protagonist. I know that it has not depicted all the challenges of mentally ill patients – but I guess it was never meant to be perfect on technicalities. More importantly, I think it helps in opening a dialogue on mental health. Bollywood has impact in India that is too big. The movie is creating awareness of the challenges of mental health patients. It stops us from dismissing their problems as madness. It stops from being insensitive to their challenges. It helps in telling us to educate ourselves and be more sensitive about understanding the troubled minds.

    The movie has taken the important topic of Mental Health and given it the right and sensitive treatment. The movie has a significant message for the world – mentally ill patients are different and need their space. Understand them, support them, lighten their mental distress and accept them unconditionally. And yes, do not be judgemental! 

    A must watch – a difficult watch, a complex watch – but yet a must watch!

  • Suicide Is Not The Answer

    Suicide Is Not The Answer

    Shocked and saddened by the suicide of V G Siddhartha – cannot believe it!

    Siddhartha founded the Cafe Coffee Day chain and changed the way India drank coffee. He created thousands of jobs, a great brand and shared wealth. He also backed Mindtree and underwrote Infosys shares. He made other IT investments and gave support to the founders.

    Why did he do this? We will never know the reasons. He came from a strong family, had great political and business connections. He was a successful entrepreneur. There are talks about the pressure of PE investor, Income Tax harassment and Debt woes. But an entrepreneur knows all such challenges – at what point did it really get too much? Or was there something else?

    It is impossible for us to judge what he must be going through. No one can imagine his situation. 

    My point is simple….Suicide is not the answer. Life is a gift. Setbacks give way to sunshine. Today’s problems will go away.  

    Suicide means end of a great talent and human potential. It means failure of the human spirit. It leaves behind emotional scars for family and friends for life – a guilt that they could not do enough. 

    And yes, no individual nor any organisation is worth giving up our live for. 

    When one feels low, please talk to friends. Listen to music – a cure for everything. Spend time with nature. Or help others – world is full of more unfortunate people and helpless situations than us – help others. Instead of giving up life, help others live a good life and one could find our own meaning of life. 

    Reach out fo self-care group, suicide prevention helplines like Sneha, Parivartan etc.. Organizations like Moodcafe, White Swan Foundation, Live Love Laugh Foundation, MPower Minds can help as well. 

    Choose life. Suicide is not the answer. This too shall pass. 

    Image Courtesy: Faris Mohammed

  • Moodcafe – The Mental Health Startup

    Moodcafe is a mental health based startup by alumni of IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Roorkee that aims to bring a new-age empathetic caring approach to mental health and well being by leveraging best practices and emerging research-driven trends of psychology, counselling, therapies, artificial intelligence and innovative reach out strategies.

    Moodcafe envisions a world where not being Okay is Okay and people connect with each other to heal hearts and mend souls by leveraging empathy, technology and human spirit!

    Moodcafe is a quality one-stop solution ensuring mental wellbeing of all so that anyone who struggles with life’s challenges can get help, anytime, anywhere.

    Moodcafe has a multi-pronged approach:

    Direct:
    – Awareness through engaging content formats
    – Connecting by leveraging new age tools like social media, chat apps, online help, Bots etc
    – Platform to connect help seekers with experienced and professional experts
    – Mental health and well-being products and services

    Corporate
    – Comprehensive corporate wellness platform
    – Assessment tools
    – Events and training

    Moodcafe aims to serve youth, general consumers and corporates in the near-term future

  • Depression – Rising India’s Big Challenge

    Depression – Rising India’s Big Challenge

    Pre-Christmas Eve was a special evening!  A discussion on ‘Perspectives on Mental Health’ was organized at Project Otenga, Ahmedabad. This event was organized under the aegis of ‘Against Depression’, a clinical depression awareness project initiated by  Udit Thakre, a psychology student. Dr Nimrat Singh, a leading clinical psychologist, was our shepherd as she shared her rich experiences and knowledge of the subject. It was heartening to see a lot of young people – as they are the future shapers.

    As the conversation proceeded, the group increasingly veered towards talking about depression. India is the depression and suicide capital of the world. According to NIMHANS, one in twenty Indians suffers from depression.  Depression issue in India is aggravated by the social and cultural factors. Most Indian families are reluctant to acknowledge the occurrence of mental illness in and around them. They are embarrassed and dismissive of the issue. This causes avoidance in taking the right steps to address mental health issues. On an average, it takes 10 years to diagnose cases of depression in India – which is much higher than the global average.

    The session addressed many myths of about depression – such as:

    – Once you get depression, you are gone for life. You cannot ever live a normal life.

    – Women are more prone to depression than men.

    – Weak people develop depression

    – Introverts are more prone to depression than extrovert people.

    The fact is that depression can strike anyone – irrespective of age, health, life-stage. Depression can be caused by a lot of things. It can be even triggered by weather, food or erratic lifestyle. Anger, when not channelized correctly,  translates into depression. Often, we are dominated and driven by media designed view of life – creating lot of self-worth issues.

    Our eyes will see what our mind knows. Prevention and management of depression depends heavily of self-awareness, awareness about an individual’s rights and awareness about a person’s environment and how it is affecting him/her. The intensity of depression is directly related to dialogue. If you have dialogue with family and friends, maintain good relationships, exercise regularly and have a regulated lifestyle, you can avoid depressions. Maintaining a diary, regular family life and open dialogue help in channelizing feelings and emotions. In the words of Dr. Nimrat Singh “ It is better to be a pressure cooker which release steam regularly rather than being a volcano.”

    The good news is that mental health issues, especially depression, can be cured. And people can lead a completely normal lives after treatment. The key is to create awareness and being there for people suffering from mental health issues.
    Please find the links to the following documents – shared by ‘Against Depression’:

    1. A continuously updated list of mental health professionals (psychologists and psychiatrists) in Ahmedabad

    2. A manual on depression published by the World Health Organization. 

    If you are interested in helping or being a part of ‘Against Depression’, please contact Udit Thakre at udit.thakre@gmail.com.

    Let us work together on solving one of the biggest challenges of a rising India!

     

     Participants with Dr Nimrat Singh & Udit Thakre 

     

    Cover Photo Credit: Jad Limcaco on Unsplash