I read this book five years ago, long before I stepped into the world of Psychiatry. I remember closing the book feeling deeply moved and overwhelmed. It made me teary-eyed in some places and laugh out loud in others. Back then, I thought it was simply a beautiful, heart-warming story about a grumpy old man […]
Tag: MINDS Newsletter
DO’s and DONT’s of MENTAL HEALTH – by Dr. Lonika R.
Mental health – a phrase we’ve heard countless times, yet often fail to understand truly. In the corridors of medical colleges, where stethoscopes swing and stress levels soar, mental well-being usually becomes the silent casualty of ambition. As medical students, we’re taught to examine, diagnose, and treat the body – but are seldom reminded to […]
Addiction in Advancing Age – Risk Factors and Possible Solutions – By Dr. Anirban Dutta
Psychiatric disorders in the elderly population have been an area overlooked for decades, and within that, addiction is no exception. Use of alcohol, tobacco, illicit substances, and prescription medications is an arena that demands exploration regarding the impact it has on older people, considering the biological and social changes that accompany advancing age. As per […]
Psychiatry Residency in India: Bridging Training Gaps in the NMC Era – By Dr. Ruchi Soni
It has been thirteen years since I walked in the corridors of the psychiatry ward as a junior resident. Back then, psychiatry training happened while walking back and forth from the psychiatry ward to the OPD. There were no specified competencies at that point in time. You learned psychiatry, as Albert Bandura once postulated in […]
Looking Inwards to Close the Mental Health Treatment Gap – By Dr. Priyash Jain
At any given time, one in ten adults in India experiences one or more mental health conditions. Despite this significant burden, the self-reported treatment gap as per the National Mental Health Survey 2016 remains alarmingly high at 84.5%. The treatment gap is highest for substance use disorders (91%, excluding tobacco use disorder) and lowest for […]
Down The Memory Lane by Dr Rayees Ahmad Wani
Volume 13 Issues 11 November, 2023 The Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) started by NMC from year 2019 has made undergraduate students more interested in the field of psychiatry. CBME is an approach to medical education that focuses on defining specific competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes) that medical students must demonstrate before they can progress through their […]
The Rise of the Vapes
Volume 13 Issues 11 November, 2023 Fast forward to the early 2000s, the first modern e-cigarette devices began to emerge, and by the 2010s, various brands had flooded the market. Vaping, defined as using a handheld electronic device to inhale a mist (or “vapor”) into the lungs, became increasingly popular. The landmark 1964 Surgeon General’s […]
Psychological support to the rape victim: Undiscerning area
Volume 13 Issues 10 October, 2023 Sexual violence is a severe problem in society that often goes unreported and with a complex relationship to mental health problems. As per WHO, “rape is defined as the physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or anus with a penis, other body part or object.” The […]
Against our will
Volume 13 Issues 10 October, 2023 During my earlier days at NIMHANS, I was shocked by an incident that happened not very far away from the campus. One evening when a woman was walking along the busy Double Road, she was forcefully taken away and raped. She was a married working woman who was walking […]
Sexual abuse and violence
Volume 13 Issues 10 October, 2023 Sexual abuse and violence —an epidemic, often whispered about in the shadows, masked by society’s silence— has plagued humanity since the beginnings of time. It’s all around us, this atrocity : homes, schools, workplaces, and even in public. It is a manifestation of systemically placed, twisted power dynamics in […]