In my first post, I spoke about what triggered my Bipolar II Disorder. I was 13 and a friend spread some rumors about me in school. As a result, everybody stopped talking to me. This triggered an onset of insomnia that would last for, well, looks like a lifetime and an eventual diagnosis of Bipolar II Disorder. Last night, I had a nightmare that I was back in school and my friends refused to talk to me. I woke up…
I have been ruminating over how to write this post for many days now. I am not sure about how I can put into words everything I experienced over the month of July and the life transforming changes that occurred as a result. In the past, I have spoken about my struggles with Bipolar II and crippling anxieties. I also suffered from almost constant chatter in my head. In July, I chose to experiment and do something completely different that…
Authored by Shabari Bhattacharyya, this post provides insights on how one can find a good therapist. Shabari has worked as a mental health practitioner since 2008 in both India and the US. Her expertise lies in counseling and clinical supervision in mental health issues, couples’ counseling and family therapy. What to Look for in a Mental Health Provider, when Nothing is Clearly Defined Finding the right therapist/ counselor/ psychiatrist/ psychologist is complicated anywhere, but in India this process becomes even…
Sharwari Tilloo and Manasa Murari Have you heard that story about the cat stealing milk and getting caught? When she was caught, she closed her eyes because she thought no one would see her. I am that cat. I think if I stand in a corner, no one will see me. At work or with people I know, I am comfortable and can be chatty. So most people are shocked to know that I am an introvert. I suspect it…
A few weeks ago, Piali Dasgupta approached me to talk about my journey with Bipolar II Disorder on her podcast The Mind Podium. We spoke about mental health in general and Bipolar II specifically. Our conversation was around societal and personal constraints, difficulties and solutions to navigating life through mental illness. Please do listen to the podcast here. I hope you find it useful. You can listen to the Mind Podium podcasts on Spotify, Amazon Audible, Gaana and Hubhopper. Piali…
It has been incredibly difficult for me to even start writing this post for several reasons. I have been going through severe depression for the last two months and as I begin to write this I realise that along with all the other emotions, I feel extremely angry for people not taking mental illness seriously, not understanding it or worse yet, ignoring it altogether. I want to talk in detail about depression, mainly for people who don’t understand what it…
I grew up in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It thinks it’s a city but to me it’s a village. The best feature of this let’s say town is its magnificent hills. It was in fact carved out of hills. To climb a hill is a normal every day exercise for Puneris. Few know this fact and so growing up while I used to climb the hill a lot, I also took it for granted. Now however going to the hill is…
Ten days ago, I experienced a grand mal seizure. This type of seizure causes a loss of consciousness and muscle convulsions. The convulsions can cause you to bite your tongue badly, which I did. The last grand mal seizure I had was nearly fourteen years ago, so this was totally unexpected and absolutely terrifying, more so for my husband, because I have no recollection of what happened. From what I can remember, there were no signs of anything out of…
Happy New Year! Let’s hope 2022 turns out a lot better than 2021. To start things off on a positive note, here’s a fun post for you. If you’ve read my previous post, you will know that my father was seriously ill from post COVID complications and as a result, I stayed in Pune for almost four months after many many years. The positive outcome of all the COVID lockdowns is that the bird population has increased and many different…
I come from a unique family where my parents are each other’s best friends, companions and partners. My mother is undoubtedly the rock of our family and my father will attest to this. She is the strongest and most compassionate person I know. Someday I hope to be sthitapradnya (stable or balanced) like her. I am sharing this because through my father’s illness, even when he was at death’s door, she was rattled but calm, composed and accepting of the…