Volume 8 Issue 11 November, 2018
I joined the Indian army as an intern in 1984 & went on to specialise in psychiatry at AFMC Pune. I was
fascinated by psychiatry since early days & that has carried me till date. In my 12 years of stay in the army having seen the extremes of climate (49C in Rajasthan to -6C in Kashmir) one outstanding feature I saw was the resilience of the Indian army which needs to be imbibed by all of us. This is all possible by the training & discipline which is so integral of our defence forces. SERVICE TO MOTHERLAND- FIRST AND ALWAYS is the motto of our army.
The transition after 12 years into the present civil world since 1996 has had an ADJUSTMENT toll on
me to as also for my family. While in the army everything worked as an AUTOMATIC machine here it
was more to DO IT YOURSELF phase. The dynamics of the civil world have been challenging in a
different way & I have continued to enjoy my passion to psychiatry. Army training has helped me
continue my disciplined life with primary importance to personal health & professional development.
Living within my means & being contented with what I have, ensured refreshing nights’ sleep for me. I
observe a sense of urgency in the present day colleagues which is at the expense of personal health &
professional stumbling. The use of substances of abuse is on the rise amongst all of us & we need to take
time to reflect on the same.
Time spent with family is reducing & gadgets are taking over us. Emotional bonding within the family,
friends & professional colleagues is lacking. I feel we as mental health professionals can bring the much
needed change both within ourselves & help in bringing some change for those around us. We need to
spend more quality time with our patients rather than being PILL oriented. I personally would request
my colleagues to join organisations & take up responsible positions to serve the needy. IPS, IAPP, IMA,
Rotary etc can be a few to name. A lot of NGOs are doing yeoman service to mentally ill like
Chittadhama at H D Kote where we can make use of our abundant resources. All of us are truly blessed
with a lot of senior teachers who are always ready to guide us. Karnataka is truly blessed in more than
one way & we all need to make the best of it.
