Mens sana monographs最新文献

This is a psychiatrist's journey through teaching, research and making friends of professional colleagues. It also chronicles the research done in the Department of Psychiatry at KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India and the important influences over the author's life.

This paper highlights the mental health needs of the elderly. It tackles the issues of their institutionalisation and community care. Rapid urbanisation in Indian society throws up special problems in elderly care. There is great evidence of a raise in morbidity, mortality, hospitalisation and loss of functional status related to common mental disorders in the elderly patients. Overlap of depression and anxiety is very common with up to almost half of the elderly patients reporting significant depressive and anxiety symptoms. Also, depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in late life. Growth in the elderly population means a direct increase in age related diseases such as dementia and poor mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, suicide and serious constraints on the quality of life among elderly individuals. The need to identify new and unmet problem areas and develop efficient therapeutic outcomes for this special population is stressed.

When caught in the dilemma of career choice, a critical conversation helped the writer crystallize the decision to plunge into the field of mental health. The decision just not only kindled interest in psychiatry but passion to study the science of the mind despite the fact that in earlier times psychiatry mainly catered to patients with chronic schizophrenia and uncontrolled bipolar disorder. Weathering the curious glances of colleagues the writer pursued to explore the field of the science of the mind. Not restricting himself to classical trends in private practice, he explored every opportunity to reach out to the common man through writing articles in popular newspapers and also ran a TV Show to respond to people's queries on mental health. He further ventured into training and development of young MBA aspirants and trained himself into an international coach and facilitator. The science of Behavioural Economics beckons him now.

A review of the literature regarding psychiatric thoughts in ancient India is attempted. Besides interesting reading, many of the concepts are still relevant and can be used in day-to-day practice especially towards healthy and happy living. Certain concepts are surprisingly contemporary and valid today. They can be used in psychotherapy and counselling and for promoting mental health. However, the description and classification of mental illness is not in tune with modern psychiatry.

Sports helps an individual much more than in the physical aspects alone. It builds character, teaches and develops strategic thinking, analytical thinking, leadership skills, goal setting and risk taking, just to name a few.

There are a number of spoofs and light-hearted writings in blogs, journalistic pieces and book form (even from former Nobel Laureates), which attempt at 'understanding' the secret of getting a Nobel. This is not one of them. It is more pedantic without necessarily being dry. It first analyses the meaning of the concept, 'the greatest benefit of mankind', which is the crux of the Nobel Will and the overarching requirement for a Nobel in Medicine. Further discussion in the paper is divided into 5 parts: (1)General qualities for a Nobel: The need to be really bright is a given; what is necessary is to be sufficiently crazy about a research topic to make it an obsession; be ready to forgo many creature comforts for long stretches of time; and after all this, be ready to accept that the Nobel may never happen, yet continue to do a type of research solely because it is intrinsically worth doing.(2)Nobel in Physiology or Medicine: Here, the key is to do fundamental/basic research to answer persistent, nagging, unanswered questions of medicine which others neglect because they are discomforting. Or, find treatments that change the whole manner a disease has been hitherto treated.(3)Nobel in Psychiatry: There are many Nobels waiting to be won, provided: (a) The branch becomes more precise; (b) Science, quantitative study and biology remain its bedrock; and (c) There is an almost obsessive preoccupation with unravelling the mysteries of the brain. One has to choose wisely where to put in efforts, e.g., fields like fundamental research into the causes of psychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorders. Or their definitive treatments. Or, work at the cellular or molecular level of the neuron and brain; or, the glandular or genetic level of the systems connected with psychiatric disorders; or, in brain radio imaging. If other, or allied, fields are chosen, to work with finding quantitative data and attempt to pinpoint their precise biological correlates.(4)Indian Nobel in Medicine: There is first the need to give up the colonial mindset that everything trend-setting in science comes only from the West. As also, for Departmental Heads, to protect and nurture those with research excellence rather than the mediocre and the sycophants. For governments, to set up an autonomous Research Excellence Council to expressly and exclusively cater to promoting research excellence, with a sizeable fund to put this into practice.All these four points are summarised as four rules.(5)Indian Nobel in psychiatry: Practical suggestions are presented in the form of an 11 Point Action Plan based on 1-4 above.

The paper discusses the issue of doctor-patient relationship in view of a changing world with special emphasis on mental health professionals. It takes into account transference and counter-transference issues in doctor-patient relationships. It deals with issues pertaining to consent and liabilities, confidentiality and patient protection. Role of a psychiatrist as a leader in the art of communication is touched upon. In the end issues about professional fees and ethics too is dealt with.

Child Psychiatry has always described disorders of childhood. Parents form an important dimension of Child Psychiatry since they present the child's behaviour before the therapist. Modern life is full of increasing competition among children, thereby increasing stress among children as well as parents. Modern parents are overly aware, concerned and anxious about their children's future. As a result children get under the pressure of comparison, competition, ambition and goal-setting. All this typically results in the vicious cycle of parental pressures, miscommunication, generation gap etc. No textbook gives clear-cut guidelines about practical aspects of parenting, which is more an art than a science. Dealing with parents in therapy has to take into consideration their psychological make-up and the way it relates with the child. For professionals it is important to empathise with the parents in therapy and at times to share their own experiences of parenting.

Indian womanhood today is at crossroads. The present paper discusses the status of Indian womanhood and its psychological underpinnings. It discusses how Indian women have suffered at the hands of their families and society leaving no path but to succumb to psychiatric illness. The role of mental health professionals and family members in supporting and promoting growth and development of the Indian woman is outlined.