Back to Basics: Mental Health
We held our first workshop on the Overview of Mental Health (Depression and Anxiety) on the 20th of September. The speaker for this session was Mrs. Husna Vanjara who is a clinical psychologist by profession; the talk was moderated by our club member, Rtr. Adil Harianawala.
Mrs. Vanjara educated us about mental health; she informed us that depression and sadness are not the same. Depression is a clinically diagnosable mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and the loss of interest, whereas sadness is an emotional pain associated with, or characterized by, feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, grief, helplessness, disappointment and sorrow.
The speaker briefed the audience about anxiety - a mental disorder characterised by feelings of worry or fear that are strong enough to interfere with one's daily activities and functioning.
The talk discussed the difference between a psychiatrist and a therapist. The former being a physician who specializes in psychiatry (the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders) whereas a therapist is a person who helps people deal with mental or emotional concerns by talking about them.
According to Mrs. Vanjara, some of the likely causes of mental illnesses are life experiences, substance abuse, and stress. She stated there are multiple signs of having a mental illness such as long-lasting sadness, extreme high and low moods, social withdrawal, changes in sleeping patterns and the loss of appetite.
The audience learned that one should seek immediate help for any kind of mental illness by reaching out to a therapist or talking it out with either a friend or a family member.
We collaborated with Rotaract Club of Mumbai Royales for this workshop. In total 49 people attended the workshop.
A recording of the session can be here. We encourage all our readers to watch this insightful discussion of Mental Health.
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Our next session on Yoga and Meditation, led by Mrs. Naina Daryanani will be held on the 27th of September. We look forward to seeing you there!
For further details, please email us at events@rotaractmnp.com
Some links to websites and recommendations of books that you can visit if you are interested in Mental health:
https://markmanson.net/5-books-for-dealing-with-anxiety-and-depression
https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/best-books-depression
A very interesting article by Business Insider which pertains to all age group:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/depression-rates-by-age-young-people-2019-3