I was driving through Bangalore, past a few men riding the kind of expensive bikes favored by the weekend cyclist, but instead of streamlined Lumen helmets, Gandhi topis on their heads. A few kilometers away, nearer Freedom Park, I negotiated the car past a crowd of about 50 protestors on motorbikes, a few trailing behind in cars. In the past the protests that I had witnessed usually involved the beleaguered...
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A recent WHO study stated that India has the highest number of depressed people in the World – about 9% of people in India had an extended period of depression within their lifetime and 36% suffered from what is called a major depressive episode, depression that lasts for a smaller period. While there were certainly flaws in the way the study was presented – the data released was only for data...
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Look, I dislike glib new-ageisms, and touchy feely cliches as much as the next person. But this I know: As a physician and psychiatrist, I help people rediscover their own inner source of healing. I facilitate a person’s journey to wellness. My treatment is to help the brave, the courageous people who come to my clinic, rediscover their source of strength, their resilience, their reservoir of healing. My job is...
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She looked at the mirror and saw herself looking back. It seemed as if she were being observed, and a bit critically at that. She reminded herself, “Those are my eyes looking at me. It is I who is doing the observing.” For a moment, a glimpse of the truth. Then, she closed her eyes...
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Q: What is my purpose? I do this and I do that but I don’t know what I really want do. A: Follow your heart and you will find your purpose. Q: Man, seriously? That’s all you got? That was my fortune cookie last week. A: I found my truth in a hallmark...
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After my last post on decision making, I got a lot of emails. Being “stuck” seems to be a recurring theme – many people feel like victims of their situation and find it challenging to make a positive change. Usually in these situations, a therapist might try a cognitive approach – getting the person to look at the underlying, often negative thoughts, that are causing distress. And while cognitive therapy...
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Sometimes I cannot make a decision, especially when it seems like there’s no good choice. How to make the right decision? Can you please help me improve my decision making ability? Thanks KG
Mumbai Dear KG, I am reminded of the time when a therapy client said to me, “The time for inaction is over,” and then added, “I will make my decision tomorrow.” I knew that he would say the same thing...
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Speaking the truth is not always easy, and may not always be the right course of action either. The ambiguous nature of the moral order of the universe first became apparent to me when I first heard the famous story of Krishna’s role in the death of Drona. If you want to refresh your memory, the wiki article is here , but the broad details are as follows: Drona is plundering through the Pandava troops,...
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Dream all you want. But put it to action. Many people die with their dreams still in their heads and hearts. My “someday” never happened, they would tell us. Why do so many people wait? What prevents people from acting on their dreams? Most people cite practical obstacles such as the lack of money or time. “I am too old now.”
“I am too young, I need experience.”
“I need to save more...
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I recently read Daniel Pink’s thought provoking book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.”
If you can’t get your hands on the book, check out Dan Pink’s TED talk on the same topic. Here’s the link. In his book, Pink reminds us that we are not motivated by the old school carrot and stick approach. Instead we are motivated in an environment that allows us the opportunity to express...
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“I was driving my car when it hit a deep pothole,” the lady said. “Somehow I managed to drive it out of the pit, but then I had to get the car repaired. The next day I was driving on another road, and I hit a pothole again, and once again, I had to get the car repaired. And just when I was coming to see you, my car hit another pothole. I think the car is cursed. It’s a horrible car, and deserves to go...
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Man: “My life sucks.” Zen Master: “Your life is your creation.” Man:”So you mean my life sucks because of what I did?” Zen Master:”‘My life sucks’ is your perspective.” Man: “You mean my life is awesome?” Zen Master: “You could have that perspective if you chose.” Man: “But you said that my life is my creation. Which is it – perception or creation?” Zen Master:...
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Q: “Can you please tell me some integrative treatments for stress?” RK, Mumbai A: By “stress”, I am assuming you mean the emotional effects of stressful conditions. An integrative approach to stress would have to begin by an exploration of the causes and effects of stress in your life. Body: What is your lifestyle like? Diet, sleep-wake cycles, use of alcohol, tobacco or other substances, the...
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This story is intended to be a sort of Rorschach, if you will. Read it and interpret it and your interpretation might help you understand your unconscious. Or not. They stood out in the open, looking up at the battle in the sky. “You afraid of dying?” she asked him. “No,” he said, although he was lying. She knew that he was lying, and he knew that she knew that he was lying. Then she said,...
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If I had my way, I would prevent all my patients from reading Kierkegaard. Justin (not his real name) is my age, 37, and has contemplated suicide for most of his life. Then a week ago, he says he climbed onto a bridge and was going to jump onto the oncoming traffic, but then decided to come to the hospital instead. One last try, he said. “When I was 10, my mother told me, ‘Justin, you missed your true...
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Q: What is your opinion on past life regression therapy?
RT, Bangalore A: Indulge in it, if you must. Just don’t take it too seriously. After all, “past life regression therapy” is a treatment based on a delusion. The person practicing this “method”, makes 2 presumptions: a) That reincarnation is a fact b) That memories of past lives can be evoked under a hypnotic trance Assumption a) is...
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All of us have an “internal subjective space”, the world of our internal experiences – of thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and the interpretations of these perceptions. Usually, people know where this internal space begins and where it ends – their “ego boundaries” are said to be intact. (I should emphasize that the word “ego” means very different things in western psychiatry and in yoga...
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(Excerpted from my Medscape.com Blog for physicians) In this series, I hope to demystify and destigmatize eastern approaches to psychological health. To most western trained physicians, eastern conceptualizations of the body and the mind must seem like superstition or conjecture. The recent wave of new age commercialization of these ancient concepts has not helped. “Mind, Body and Spirit” is a...
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“We Don’t Know”. Intriguing name for a restaurant. “What don’t you know?” I asked the waiter. He smiled in what I think was supposed to be an enigmatic manner. “We don’t know anything, Sir.” “Ok,” I said. I was starving. “Can I get the menu please?” He gave me a large leather bound menu. Except there was no menu. Just a piece of paper with numbers from 1 to 10, arranged...
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Q: I am a BE dropout, worked for few BPOs, now unemployed and I don’t know what to do and i am very frustrated with life, always brooding about the lost opportunities and a lack lustre future. How do I get rid of the fear of failure? A: If you believe that you have a “lack lustre future”, chances are that you will be right. In order to change the course of your life, in order to live a better future, you...
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