You put your book bag down and turn on the TV to enjoy some of your favorite cartoons - a typical relaxing day after school. Doesn’t this sound great? Well, this was not always the case for me. My after-school time was quite different. Every day, I sat mindlessly highlighting prep books trying to solve all [...]
People throughout the world experience issues with mental health at any given time. These can manifest in multiple visceral reactions, which can include anxiety, irritability, weight loss, fatigue, lack of appetite, and many more. The physical manifestations of subconscious or conscious issues can add to the existing pressure and stress the person is experiencing. In [...]
Normalcy is defined as the state of being typical, usual, or expected. For years, we lived our lives seemingly carefree and distant from the possibility of a catastrophe. Then, COVID hit, whipping us in the face with variants such as Delta and most recently, Omicron. For children, teens, and college students, the changes have been [...]
Lessons from Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, and Natasha Bedingfield “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” On its surface, this profound quote attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pertains to the way we treat each other. I’ve also found it can be directed inwards. Since an [...]
We often complain that we don’t get what we want. Sometimes, we get what we didn’t ask for. Stress is one of those things. It is unfortunately a part of our lives. Many people tell me that they want a stress-free life. If that were possible, I would be the first one in line. The [...]
The fact that we have been stressed tremendously is not news to anyone. But it might help to understand the complex relationship between stress and our bodies. Why do our bodies adapt to some stressful events while other stressors make us sick? Let us start with the difference between the stressors our ancestors faced and [...]
Recently a South Asian high school junior informed his father with great enthusiasm, that he was very much interested in mental health and wants to become a psychiatrist. His father expressed his serious concerns that as a psychiatrist, talking to lot of mentally ill people might make him mentally ill. He tried to discourage his [...]
In keeping with SAMHIN’s mission of greater dialogue on mental health in South Asians and highlight the important work of others, we invited Astha Shukla, an accomplished musician and certified life coach to tell us about life coaching. Happiness is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be [...]
In keeping with SAMHIN’s mission of greater dialogue on mental health in South Asians and highlight the important work of others, we invited Meghana Kakaraparthi, a dedicated SAMHIN volunteer and aspiring neurologist and psychologist, to share about the difficulties of having a conversation with parents about mental health issues. It was a typical afternoon when [...]
According to the CDC, suicide is 10th leading cause of death in the U.S: there were 47,511 suicide deaths and 1.38 million suicide attempts in the U.S. These numbers become a blur for the family who has lost a loved one to suicide. It is the most devastating and life-changing experience. The suicide loss survivor [...]
