Indian Addiction and Recovery Blog

What is the Mental Health Act 2017

Akansha Sahay

June 21, 2023

Did you know that just a few years ago, the mental health law in India allowed judicial officers and mental health establishments to authorise long-stay admissions of persons with mental illness (PMI) — often against the informed consent and wishes of the individual? This law, known as the Indian Mental Health Act 1987, also mandated rigid and tedious license criteria…

Mental health-related statutory bodies in India

Akansha Sahay

May 23, 2023

Is the mental health crisis now a pandemic growing within the Covid pandemic? The numbers certainly seem to say so. According to a scientific brief by the World Health Organization (WHO), the global prevalence of anxiety and depression grew by a massive 25% in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. WHO estimates that 1 in every 4 people will…

Treatment options for body dysmorphia

Akansha Sahay

May 22, 2023

Body dysmorphia, a mental health condition characterized by a preoccupation with perceived flaws in one's appearance, can have a significant impact on an individual's well-being and quality of life. While it is normal to have some insecurities about one's appearance, body dysmorphia goes beyond that, leading to excessive distress and impairment in daily functioning. Seeking professional help is crucial for…

How to stay healthy while working on a night shift

Akansha Sahay

Working late hours can turn even a dream job into a health nightmare. For Ravi (name changed), a software engineer, working remotely for international companies was a dream coming true. However, the irregular work timings with late nights to match the time zones of his clients soon began to take a toll on his health. Besides growing increasingly dependent on…

Seven Signs of a Healthy Romantic Relationship

Akansha Sahay

May 15, 2023

Maybe you’ve just started dating someone, or maybe you’ve been in a relationship for over a decade. Irrespective of where one is in their relationship, this question has crossed everyone’s mind at some point: Am I in a healthy relationship? And no, just asking this question does not mean that you are in a bad relationship. It is, in fact,…

How does sex addiction affect your mental health

Akansha Sahay

Sex is one of the primary physiological needs in human beings, along with air, food and water. Sex addiction is a lack of control over sexual thoughts, impulses and urges. While these are very natural to most human beings, in some people, it might be in excess and affect the individual’s life negatively. The ICD-11(International Classification of Diseases) diagnoses this…

How does weed affect your brain

Akansha Sahay

April 14, 2023

“You might feel really hungry, or you might feel like passing out. But mostly, it will be the best feeling ever,” said a Quora user when asked, “How does it feel after smoking weed?” Many people report feeling happy or relaxed, but weed can also cause some negative effects like anxiety and paranoia. Please note that Marijuana is illegal in…

How to have a healthy sex life

Akansha Sahay

An unhealthy sex life could turn what may even seem like a match made in heaven into a hellish experience. Studies show that having an unhealthy sex life could lead to several mental, emotional, and physical problems for individuals. In fact, many countries also consider certain sexual problems, including abuse, as plausible grounds for divorce between married couples. Moreover, as…

How to foster a healthy work climate?

Akansha Sahay

April 11, 2023

“Work is killing me!” is a commonly used turn of phrase. But did you know that one could actually die from work-related stress? The Japanese even have a term for it: karoshi. Identified first in Japan in the 1970s and gaining coverage internationally since 1992, the phenomenon of karoshi literally translates as “death by overwork”. An increasing number of karoshi…

Behavioural activation therapy: An easy way to uplift your mood

Akansha Sahay

April 3, 2023

Let's picture an individual with depression wants to improve their mood by engaging in more physical activity. The therapist and individual might start by identifying a larger goal, such as running a 5K race. However, the individual may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of running a 5K race, and may not know where to start. To help the individual achieve…

Healthy diet for a better mental health

Akansha Sahay

March 29, 2023

Could the Mediterranean dietary model – and not just medication or meditation and even mediation with psychotherapy – be the key to sustainable improvement in mental health? Already renowned for its physical health benefits such as lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, the Mediterranean dietary pattern is now also associated with overall mental well-being. According to latest findings, the Mediterranean…

How to help someone with body dysmorphia?

Akansha Sahay

March 27, 2023

What is it like to have Body Dysmorphia? We’ve all had days when it’s hard to look in the mirror without judging your appearance when you’re comparing your body to someone else’s or attempting to hide your flaws, using make-up and uncomfortable clothes to match society's beauty standards. We all have certain parts of our faces or body that we…

10 negative effects of technology on our mental health

Akansha Sahay

March 17, 2023

Ed Sheeran does not carry a cell phone. In a podcast aired in 2022, the multi-platinum, award-winning singer and musician revealed, “I don’t carry a phone…I haven’t had a phone since 2015.” Adding that it affected his mental health — especially the “pressure of replying to text messages straight away” — he explained, “I got really, really overwhelmed and sad…

Is it love or is it codependency?

Akansha Sahay

March 6, 2023

Is it love, or is it codependency? When it comes to trending topics, love may be one of the hottest topics of all time. For centuries people have debated, written about, and pondered upon love. It also features in movies, music, poetry, and even religious texts! So, it is safe to say one would be under a rock to escape…

Types of emotions and how to identify them

Akansha Sahay

March 1, 2023

What are emotions? We’ve all experienced emotions and continue to do so in every moment of our lives. At some points, we might even feel more than one emotion at a time, sometimes also contradictory emotions. Sometimes our emotions might be more intense, like when you first spoke to your crush and felt elated sometimes, they may be more moderate,…