On my walk one day I met a lady who taught me a great lesson in positivity. She had lost her only brother to suicide a few years back, and in the months following this heartbreaking incident while she was still trying hard to come to terms with it, her marriage was falling apart which…
The 2014 general election in India was perhaps the most historic one in recent times. Narendra Modi led his party to an unprecedented landslide victory to become the 15th Prime Minister of India. He is one man who is as strongly supported as he is opposed. In a recent interview with Karan Thapar in a…
As we put the terrible 2020 behind us, I cannot help but think of the times of the Nazi regime in Germany when millions of people were terrorized and the world stared in horror at mass scale death and destruction. Although, the cause, conditions and collective combats are very different in this pandemic and the…
Just the other day, my niece who is barely out of her teen years said something very valid and thought provoking. She wondered why her generation is so stressed and disturbed. She is right, there is widespread cases of depression, anxiety, relationship breakup, addiction and suicide among the younger generation. It is more true among…
Extremely saddened at the demise of the founder of Coffee Cafe Day, Sidhartha Hegde. The CCD spread across the country not only created gainful employment for thousands of youth, it provided a unique happy space for young and old to just relax over a cup of coffee, without being rushed to leave. It is in…
After many many years I met this dear friend of mine, who I have known her as a very active professor in Psychology in a reputed college. She has retired since, has grayed a little, adding to the dignity that she always commanded, has a slight limp and a slower gait, but one thing that…
Today, thanks to concerted work by mental health professional, doctors, many educational institutions and of course the media people are aware of a mental disorder that is increasingly spreading. Depression has become the common cold of mental illness. Most people have either themselves suffered at some point in time in their lives or have known…
There was a time during my under graduation days people looked at me quizzically on learning I was studying Psychology. It was a lesser known subject and mostly associated with mental disorders, not considered very respectable. I too often wondered whether I was doing the right thing. But then Chemistry was not my cup of…
Wishing every reader a very happy new year 2017. This wish has a very wide and deep significance. Friends, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that our ultimate goal in life is to be happy. However, this does not really come from activities like partying, shopping, holidaying etc. which are momentary pleasures at best. Happiness…
Just when people like me have started taking to the social media, and also realising its charm, promptly comes research studies that link use of social media to depression. It is a double whammy. On the one hand one wants to communicate with a large number of people at once, feel less lonely and remain…