Psychiatry and Society

Checklists and psychological screening questionnaires for mental illness are effective, easy to use and widely available. Pune was shocked into considering the need for mental health screening of its bus drivers after one of them wilfully killed eight people and injured 32 others. He hijacked a bus at the depot and mowed down victims in broad daylight. Amidst the protests, and outrage the Pune administration has decided that all its bus driver undergo psychological testing. We have already looked at screening of police personnel for mental health problems , and also screening of teenagers for alcohol and drug abuse . Here we specifically examine the feasibility of regularly screening the 8600 PMPL staff and Pune bus drivers for mental health problems. Mental illness in bus drivers Mental health problems are higher for bus drivers who suffer from back pain, are dissatisfied with their jobs or undertake long-distance driving. This is more so for employees who have worked fo...

Difficulty with reading, spelling and maths is rampant among Indian students. Two recent reports have highlighted this academic underachievement. The academic infrastructure is definitely a major contributor. However, unrecognised dyslexia  or other learning disability  also needs to be considered by every concerned parent and enlightened teacher. We have already discussed the management of dyslexia . Here we underline the urgent need for action. India ranked 72nd of 73 countries in a comparative international survey (PISA) of 15-year-old students. All students were assessed on the same test for knowledge and skills in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy. A sample of more than 5000 students from 200 Indian schools were assessed in this program. In none of these categories did more than 17% of Indian students scored above baseline levels as compared to 81% of students from OECD countries (US, UK, Australia etc). 15-year-olds scoring above baseline...

Recovery to meaningful functioning after even severe mental illness is the present standard of care in mental health treatment. Recovery is made possible by medications that are now widely available at a reasonable cost. Planning and persistence with treatment need to be ensured to achieve a quality recovery. Recovery from mental disorders is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness live a self-directed life strive to reach their full potential The road to recovery from mental illness has four components that together give meaning to life. 1. Health Overcoming or managing the disease and living in a physically and emotionally healthy way. Start with the basics - medication, meals, sleep and exercise . Establishing routines for these basic health tasks are essential for recovery of function. Medication is the corner stone on which recovery is nurtured. In the absence of medication frequent relapses and recurrences disrupt basic f...

Alcohol and driving don’t mix . In a flashback to Alex’s drug influenced joyride in A Clockwork Orange , a Pune youth bumped into four people at different points on his late night drive through the city. When chased and caught he was found to be under the influence of alcohol. In this post we take a look at the effects of alcohol on driving . We have already discussed some of the long term effects that necessitate imposing legal age limits for alcohol consumption in order to mitigate its neurotoxic effects on the developing brain . 30mg% is the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for driving. Limits are a safety requirement to counter the adverse effects of alcohol on driving ability. The 30mg% level is often panned as being too low. Most countries have settled at a 50mg% threshold, some at 20mg%, others (considered very liberal) at 80mg%. Lets take a look at the effects on driving at these various blood alcohol concentrations (CDC 2011). BAC Effect on dri...

Training for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease  helps address the distressing behaviours that arise in the affected person. Caregiver training also promotes wellness in caregivers by giving them the skills to  handle the relentless stress. Unfortunately most caregivers are unaware of the need or the availability of resources. The Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) held its 16th conference in Nov 2011 at Pune. This significant event marked Pune’s arrival on the national dementia caregiver stage. Pune is now the 16th Indian city with an ARDSI chapter of its own. How does this help people with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers? The ARDSI Pune chapter “develops, coordinates and renders services in the field of dementia care, support, and training”. The training aspect is particularly interesting . Conversations with caregivers at the clinic usually swing around to the day-to-day nitty-gritty of dealing with dementia, the impa...

Turn off the television and speak to your toddler . Talking is the best thing you could do today for your child’s psychological development. Talking is an interactive process in which your child exercises a core feature of being human - communicating through speech. Your child's vocabulary is directly proportional to the amount of time you spend talking. Talking primes your child for independence. Speech evolves through attempts to communicate needs and feelings. Infants and toddlers are driven by evolution to master this complex process. You, the parent, play a key role in this two-way interaction. Infancy and toddler-hood are stages for developing secure bonding and attachment. The child is primed to bond with the mother or caregiver. The initial bond is secured by direct contact with the caregiver - through warmth, touch and voice. A secure attachment bond enables the infant seeks to explore the environment by attempts to crawl and later walk. The exploring toddler returns ...

Mental health and diet quality are closely linked . The food choices you made as a teenager affect the development of conduct and emotional problems that continue into adulthood. Lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity are attributed to changes in diet and exercise habits. Recently there is increasing evidence that diet and exercise also have a major influence on mental health. Dieting peaks after the festival season. This post will help you avoid the 'isms' and fads and point you in the direction indicated by current research. A good quality diet predicts better mental health Evaluating the quality of the complete diet provides a better and more consistent picture of nutrition status than focusing on individual nutrients like magnesium or food groups like various fatty acids (omega, polyunsaturated). A traditional diet of vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, and whole grains is associated with lower risk for depression and for anxiety disorders as compared...