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September 10 th is an important day in the sphere of mental health. It is World suicide prevention day. As a mental health advocate this prompts me to go for a narrative on Life in line with the theme of this good day.  Although the theme is ” change the narrative on suicide ” i tweak it to a positive note to make it more relevant to many and have ended up with this narrative – Healthy take on life. Having graced mother earth for fifty odd years the bonds i have developed with people, place and time make me view Life in its whole expanse. The idea that it’s my Life  and i alone am responsible for it or it’s their life and they alone are responsible for it doesn’t hold any longer for me. It has evolved up. The fact that many of our lives are interconnected and interdependent emerges quietly with a realisation and my surrender to the Universe. I cannot control everything and have quietly realised my limits of control over Life. I am careful to make sure that it doesn’t make me shirk away from responsible living. I feel it would make me more responsible and think in terms of others welfare too as we chart our future actions for living.   So having straightened out a thought in this cross road of Life, Living for a societal good and welfare takes center stage. I  have extracted some concepts on Social structure and institutions from Sociology for some understanding and to learn what it is that constitutes society . The basic social structure from a sociological perspective is visualised as a pyramid . It has economy as its broad base and the other social institutions as the superstructure. Basic social structure Concept of Social Institution Basic Social institutions  The interactions between the social institutions leads to the formation of a social system. Some of the functional requisites of a social system is that it has to be structured so that it can be compatible with other systems. It must have the requisites from other systems and it must have minimum control over disruptive behaviours. The different social institutions cannot function solely or independently and it can work optimally only in association with other institutions. So there is interdependence but at the same time with preservation of autonomy. Social System Equipped with the above basic ideas from sociology it is possible to understand more clearly the burden of having a thought as lofty as ” Societal welfare “.  All of us are unique in our own ways. So associations (socialisations) comes with its challenges.  As community physicians i was trained to assess , examine and study psychosocial aspects in cases. As the saying goes “Man is a social animal ” our social needs are as important as air and food. It’s one of our basic needs and is one of the key determinant of our health. This need becomes difficult to meet many times given the complexity and intricacies of the social systems that we create and have to manage.     A Complex Social system Adverse consequences of the complex social system is Psychosocial stress and Psychosocial illhealth. Relationship issues stemming out of socialisation exercises could be a major deterrent in Life and lead to dreadful health problems.  Suicide is a mental health crisis situation which could result out of Life stressors. To prevent Suicide the 3 Rs are to be remembered. Recognising the suicidal ideation from verbal cues ( e,g statements like “i want to die”) and behaviours (withdrawal, giving away possessions). Responding by engaging with empathy – Listening, acknowledging their pain and showing that you are there for them. Communicating directlycan be a step toward saving a life. Refer by connecting to resources such as a mental health professional or a crisis hotline. If only there could be a constant spark with the good thought of a harmonious earth and for human welfare , if only there could be constant peace and calm in this world, it could save so many lives from being taken away.  Wishing everybody a good suicide prevention day when we need to pause and step back from the hustle bustle to envision a world with good thoughts and actions for a peaceful stress free life🙏

Ask not a Crumb of meMay be it’s the falling apartNot able to hold it all togetherThe beautiful bits and piecesWith the spiky heavy gory ones To put it all togetherWith a beautiful hem and stitchAnd gift it to that caring meI stand ready for the world Not to be torn apartBut to be dealt with care and concernI am careful about the sharpsThrown at me in the struggle To get a crumb of meGone are the dead daysOf numb and hardnessThe quest to offer my world That little part but not the parcel of meAnd brighten the darknessWith the Light of God sent sparklerThe Gory and beautiful parts of me Burns the flame in my heartGod sends me the torchTo look for those harmful loose fragmentsThat brings all the noise and rattle The transform with poise and composureWithstand the wind that could blow downKeep the flame and torch burningI bow down in reverence and gratitude For the river grace flowsWatering my heart and soul.

Coming home  It’s where my heart is  To take in my heart  I traverse the distance  Under the rule of nature  Go past the hindering frequencies  Likes speak the same jargon  I love the wandering clouds  The birds formation on their flight  The tender breeze on my face  The heavenly showers  Cooling the land down  Bathing the grass and the birds  They wash clean the surface  The cleansing and healing  Of my heart I am going back home  Where I hear the birds   Crying, squeaking, chirping, calling  In their language not foreign to me  The butterflies flutter  Moving my heart There is a gentle breeze I keep my heart safe  The little lamp burning  From the lash of tides That once damped it down Praying with all my might  For all that which keeps me going  Thanks for the air I take in  With the sounds and sights Of such lovely beings Who are in my home A lukewarm heart Where there are no aggressions The rain drops tinkle The streams they make Carrying the old flowers away My heart sings afresh with the rain drops The heavens have shown The magic of connection  Brings alive my loving home once again.

An immersion in the holy river  Is believed to cleanse our sins It’s a renewal An immersion in the river of love Does it disrupt and entangle Or does it  renew and free   Depends on what is love  Love is sweet tender entanglements Free of unrealistic expectations of other With no deep disappointments Readiness to offer the another a chance  Unforgiving moments gone down the stream Opening of the infinite reservoir Of compassion mercy and soothing energy Understanding taken to another level Happiness seeing the light to ones path To wholesome behaviour Care enough not to fragment To provide for the needs of the other solutions to the problems . The chaos and mess of the entanglement does arise  Inner struggle of not knowing what i want Disappointments rising out of the attachment Anger at the obstacle to not having what i want  Delusions and Confusions emerge in the dryness Doubts of shortchange and injustice metted Feeling afraid and unsafe Discomfort , fear of future and anger  Wipes out the little drying river in me. The sad story of the drying river The musings of the tapestry of life     Live life to the best i can  A chance to immerse And feel the renewal of a sweet entanglement In the holy river of love.

Happened to read about FUQs ( Frequently unanswered questions). We mostly stress ourselves to definitive answers to questions arising in our mind, i loved this idea of living with the question, inhabiting it , going with the flow of the thoughts running in your mind and accepting it wholeheartedly.  So am on this journey of finding answers to the questions like :  Who makes you ?  What matters more to an individual’s wellness (both mental and physical)- the internal factors or the external factors ? Not expecting a definitive single categorical answer to this, not raging but simmering question in me for a long time. I don’t think i have lost direction in answering this question but i am amazed how it has spread out and broadened its sphere. It is taking me through developmental psychology, positive psychology, neurosciences, psychiatry, basic biology, literature , poetry and so am into the rabbit hole as Alice in wonderland went through. What occurs to me from reading up a little about Wellness and factors affecting it is that the current air is to promote an individualistic or internal locus of control of human behaviour as the main factor contributing to wellness of an individual. Individuals who have an external locus of control are more prone for depression and a characteristic feature of depression is learned helplessness. In depression most of the time the individual feels helpless and lost to sort themselves out and positive psychology recommends that people adopt an internal locus of control of themselves to safeguard from adverse mental health conditions. It seems to be difficult to completely side with the proponents of positive psychology. It reminds me of one of the famous quotes that ” the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. This thought is followed by some psychologists who practice gestalt therapy. But in basic biology as well, we all know that the magic of being a human is so different from the functions of individual organs and systems. The symphony that emerges from the whole is definitely a marvel when compared to the parts as they are. Similarly as individuals we have a song through wellness and internal locus of control.  But would it orchestrate well enough into a beautiful symphony if we put together the songs representing the society ? At the societal level would it amount to be a symphony of beautiful notes strung together and orchestrated well ? The answer that emerges out is a categorical no from me.  You may have a different view please let me know your take on this question. The wholesomeness of an individual comes not only from the internal factors but the experiential circumstances and environment through which the individual goes through. We live with nature – nature of ourselves as well as the nature around us. We discover ourselves through our relationships with others. The outside others could be an inanimate or an animate one. The coming home feeling that the furniture or pooja room in your house gives, points towards the connection that an external outfit could have on us. I think we have to realise and understand that we no longer have to put the extra thrust of wellness on individuals themselves but have to take it upon ourselves to work for a mentally well society. We are responsible for each other. This goes well with this years theme of world mental health day – Mental health is a universal human right.  Its critical that we open ourselves up and start talking about matters concerning our mental health , break the stigma around mental health issues and forge ahead leaving none behind.         Looks like i have staggered a bit in this journey of answering the questions i mentioned above. But it lingers and hope to explore it more some where else. Thanks for tuning in and happy world mental health day 💞💞 . References 1.https://positivepsychology.com/internal-external-locus-of-control/  2. Foster – writers forum

Thoughts withered away to dead bits Not able to stay alive and thrive To stand the ground and the pressure test Nipping out of the blossom Flow of thought stream disrupted The expression of my inner world curtailed I find no words or expressions To bring out that dammed reservoir inside Safe spaces I seek out Space where my thoughts are nurtured Nourished and taken care to grow Be it solitude or a teacher’s exchange There is so much of a relief The release of the dammed reservoir To a much-needed freedom of flow. There are arms to use The sharpened arsenal of words Cruel painful interfaces to get around Of what use are those arms When there is no real communication Lack of intensity and depth of communiques  Only Broken fragments of hearts exchanged.

To what we don’t know But who resides in my heart Soothes my soul and heals my wounds The arching aura around me that protects The refuge who calms down my senses Control over my emotions gained Wonder at thee’ s creations and what there is in universe and beyond The one who runs the world Rules and laws governing Life and creations No barrier between me and you bare my soul and let you into my inner world know that you are supreme and need no support Hence leaning on you till there is a whisper You have had enough, take care of yourself gather to my feet confident to make it that little talk in the head which puts me straight on the mission to keep going bracing myself up. There is something on the knowledge radar  The query of existence of you Deciphered deep down to quantum interactions You have remained elusive to science But not to stop you from being experienced God is there everywhere, in every being Science has invalidated you to many But the deep trust in self to see you. To hold you in that space of inner world There lies that expansive inner Much more magnificent than the objective outer Since it is the imprint in the inner that makes the outer. The perspectives gained from seeing what’s happening To the states of wakefulness, sleep and dream The meaning of relationships that change with time From building to crashing and everything in between The string that holds us each and everyone together That inter connectedness is a magic   In a world where Building of peace is arduous Taking to war is the visibly better option . Loving compassion and kindness oozing out of monks Makes us look up to the heart of God For that connection to replenish us The energy that keeps us going . Moments of despair when things not figure-outable Disappointments, conflicts and long drawn stress Holding onto that connection I know not what thy plans are But I know you are with me seeing me through. The bond of devotion where I look up to the supreme The almighty who is everything From the fierce to the ever giving merciful I know that you are the reason for the creation Governing the rules and laws of the universe and beyond. Rituals like lighting the lamp Praying with folded hands and bowed down head Adoring you with flowers picked Lighting an incense and smearing the forehead with ash Are some things done with fervor Brings in that spark and renewal Of becoming alive and rejuvenated from the wearing out. The sentience that is brought upon By the intention and the thought Is unmistakably valid to strengthen my bond with you my GOD.  

As i look at the trajestory of  Life , i see we have all traversed our paths in such beautiful shades and varied vibrancies. If someone is super successful in career and personal life , there is some body who had had a debacle with both career and personal life. We have all grown up from a starting point of coming into this world with nothing. I think what shapes up are decisions. Conscious decisions arise out of personal needs and perspectives. My upbringing and background results in a different need in comparison to others. I graze along and pick up things that shapes up my perspectives. Its that program and functions of my system that takes me along.  I got to hear and see Dr. Caroline leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist in one of the lifestyle medicine podcasts that i watch now and then. There she promoted her book” cleaning up your mental mess” . It got me hooked onto it. I read through the book and found it to be informative. Another neuroscientist i had read was Dr. Tara swart who had a different take on our mental systems.   Caroline leaf elaborates techniques for mind management.  She as evident in her narratives is a good communication pathologist and sees that her communications are perfect. However i find flaws in her claims for her neurocycle technique for mind management. It does not have hard scientific research evidence backing it in terms of the number of people studied. She has studied only about 6-7 people. But, they have been thoroughly studied with brains scans, blood work ( cortisol and homocysteine levels) , electrical activity measure of the brain ( frontal alpha, beta, gamma asymmetry ) , well thought out psychosocial measures of autonomy, awareness, toxic thoughts, anxiety and depression scales. She has also also measured telomere length. Shorter telomere length indicates toxic stress and cellular aging. Uncontrolled toxic thinking adversely affects brain functionality, blood cortisol levels and even the telomeres on the chromosomes. Through the technique people have been thought to tune into their non conscious mind to manage their thought life and detox and build the brain. Acknowledging, embracing and processing our issues will optimise brain function and create coherence.  It will give us the ability to see our issues clearly and deal with them. The mental mess is reflected in the qEEG where the energy waves in the brain are measured. Toxic thoughts are like getting onto a hamster wheel, leads to positive feedback loops and more stress. The neural circuitry is transformed and a new set of neural pathways are build through the exercise of the neurocycle technique. The 5 steps of the neurocycle technique  are gather, reflect , write , recheck  and active reach. The foundational principles of this technique are embracing , processing and reconceptualizing.  The current mental diet has been good enough to create that space in me to be able to open up , sort out and continuously reframe. Would want to take in more but have gained atleast some little emotional closure to be contended with what is there and what is possible.   

The little bud took to the world with itself so enclosed, Shriveled and curled up within its womb of sepals, Preparing to reveal to the world, Leading a Life to be told. Unraveling the mystery that lovers solve World where even the Roses are red, And the lucid Violets are blue, Unearthed and watched. Agonies and miseries of Ruling division, But a healer with a zealous mission,  And Fulfillment Divine Grace, Fullness of life amaze. An opening bloom of the world, Time and relationships reveal, Tale and song so to hold, Life challenges behold. Shearing of the Conscience Wilting of the Souls,  Breaks and pits So be bold. The significance and value of perceptions that dawn, The truth and beauty of each and everything, That adds more meaning and fullness in All, Living life with the depth of reality. The intense hue and fragrance spread, Soul and Spirits Soothe and Soaks, Lifts and merits Symbol of Love, magic we Stand together.