india Archives - Hope With Anirban

I came home after a long time

The author writes about his arrival at Howrah, his hometown, and how he plans to stay there for a few days before returning to Bangalore.

Yesterday I came home to Howrah from Bangalore after a long time via flight.

And I feel bliss after eating the homemade food that my mother and father cook at home.

I think it’s important to visit home and balance work and family.

I don’t have the work part figured out just yet but I’m on my way to secure job interviews.

But I’ve figured out my family part.

My parents and my siblings are there. And they mean a lot to me.

There isn’t much story here. But I was a bit anxious throughout the journey and I was observing the people around me.

I had my fruit juice(Maiza) bottle with me which I was occasionally sipping throughout my journey.

I’ll be staying in Howrah for the next 7 days. And I have plans other than voting.

I didn’t just come here to vote. But I came to accomplish some important tasks which I’ll write about in the future(So stay tuned).

To see my parents’ faces when I came home gave me immense joy.

And I drank a glass of lassi after I entered home.

And I have to tell you I had the best sleep last night in a long time.

So yeah I came home and I’ll return soon after a few days.

Thanks for reading this line! It means a lot.

We were extremely lucky during the pandemic

How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?

Being citizens of India, having access to vaccines, having no job losses, we were extremely lucky.

In the COVID-19 pandemic I saw that many of my relatives died. But my immediate family, my parents and siblings were healthy.

My father’s role was crucial here. He was very proactive.

Despite my anxiety he himself cooked healthy protein rich foods, we never had shortages of masks and we got vaccinated on time.

I feel sorry for the people who didn’t have the privilege of good health in the COVID-19 pandemic.

I wouldn’t say I’m glad you read this line because the COVID-19 pandemic was nothing to be proud of.

We were just extremely lucky by God’s infinte grace.

Thanks for reading!

People understand a lot of things

What’s something most people don’t understand?

People understand a lot.

They understand –

Any suffering that they’ve been through or can relate to
Mental health issues because every household has these issues now
Injustice done to other people (like Justice for Abhaya)
Anything if you explain it to them properly

People are reasonable and they are intelligent.

India is the largest democracy in the world and I am proud to say that I believe in democracy.

So people vote leaders who then represent them in the parliament.

And basically it’s one of the right ways to run a government.

But it won’t be possible if one doesn’t have faith in people’s sound understanding and sound judgements.

There may be some things that most people don’t understand but these things are there because nobody explains it to them or because it takes a lot of time and effort to grasp them.

I’m glad you’re reading this. Thanks a lot!

Image credit – https://unsplash.com/photos/three-people-sitting-in-front-of-table-laughing-together-g1Kr4Ozfoac?utm_content=creditShareLink&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash

So, in 2015, therapy felt pointless for this person until they met Dr. Prasanta Kumar Roy in 2017, who really understood them and helped them heal from BPAD. They emphasize faith and patience in overcoming suffering, suggesting that finding hope and keeping busy is key to coping with tough times.

When I was going to therapy in 2015, I was just told to do Cognitive Behavioral Therapy(CBT) homework.

The problem wasn’t that I won’t do it. The problem was I didn’t feel like doing it.

I didn’t have a problem with CBT but I had a problem with them not fixing my emotional states.

My Favorite Psychologist

It’s only in 2017 when I found a great psychologist who doesn’t even charge any fees if one goes through the public healthcare system of standing in the queue for 2 hours.

It was then that I truly got healed from my BPAD.

He is Dr. Prasanta Kumar Roy and he sits in Kolkata’s SSKM hospital.

He made me feel for the first time that a psychologist understood me.

But that was before 4-5 years of changing many psychologists. And years of suffering inflicted by my own mind.

Questions & Answers

Why do we suffer so much? How to be patient so that the suffering ends one day? How to wait till that day?

I think we suffer because we don’t have faith.

Plain and simple. We need to have faith in something bigger than us.

And without God’s blessings you can’t have so much patience and humility.

I’m not asking you to become a believer from an atheist. You could believe in a role model/good person also. But you must feel hope.

How to be patient?

I guess I started healing the day I started chanting the Hare Krishna mantra internally in my mind in 2017.

That gave me mental strength to hold on and keep doing what I have to do.

So you do need faith and belief and need to bow down to the divine to have so much patience.

How to wait till that day?

So basically I don’t feel like I’m waiting because I just do what I have with me.

“If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl.”

If I can’t go to classes, I’ll take online classes.

If I can’t go to grocery shopping, I’ll at least learn to cook.

If I can’t do anything, paralyzed by fear. Then I will speak to my mom, and she tells me to have faith.

Conclusion

I know I’m not a psychologist but I hope this blog post added value to your life.

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I(Anirban Saren) am not a licensed medical professional, psychiatrist or a psychologist and I’m not providing any medical advice. I’m writing my own opinions. Please consult a professional psychiatrist, psychologist before following this advice.

We demand Justice for Abhaya

I am a common man. And I don’t have political power.

I and other common people all around the world who are raising their voices for Justice for Abhaya are determined.

We want justice for Abhaya. We want justice for RGKar. We demand justice.

I watch the news every day now. I went to a government hospital for health reasons a few days ago. (Government hospitals are open and senior doctors are doing a great job)

And I am not going to bash anyone with my opinions.

I just believe in raising my voice for what’s right. It may be through going out to the streets and protesting or writing on a blog.

I am trying to do both.

We want Justice for Abhaya. We want Justice for RGKar. We demand justice.

We Want Justice!!!

I am not a philosopher. I don’t like arguments or opinions.

I like common sense and fighting for what’s right.

I know what’s right. I don’t need to read Descartes or Plato. Not only that, but I don’t need to research books or talk to experts to know if something is right or wrong.

Likewise, I know in my gut what’s the right thing.

We want justice for Abhaya. We want justice for RGKar. We demand justice.

Role Of Racism And Casteism In Mental Health In India

The reason I am writing this post is to share with you how disturbing race or caste discrimination is on mental health.

I was born as an Adivasi in the Santhal community of India and I love my race and religion. But I also feel discrimination in society. And the reason is because of my birth.

From childhood I lived in an urban setting and my parents moved locations due to their jobs. I did not live in segregation from society in my tribal community. I lived with mainstream society.

When I was in class 6 one of my classmates said to me in a bad language a slang followed by the word “Adivasi”. This had an impact on my thinking.

I never felt like I could be myself when I am with non-tribal people. Because if I do become myself and act like myself I will be judged not based on my appearance or character but by race.

And they say that caste and race does not exist!

When I was a kid, I was not very social. And I did not assert myself very much. And race, in my case, had a big part to play in it.

And so when I was in a private engineering college I had to face even more racism. My labmates won’t let me do any lab work. They would outright ignore me and dominate through making groups inside the group and basically seeing me as a filth. I never felt at home there.

I am not saying my life is the way it is because of racism. I am not blaming racism or declaring myself a victim. I am saying that racism and casteism is a serious issue. Ignoring it is not going to make it go away.

Even in high school I was being point to as the guy with Scheduled Tribe quota which created discrimination. I remember thinking,”How can I be myself here? They dislike me for my race. They dislike me because of a misconception of reservation quotas. They don’t realize that reservation is there so that we can represent ourselves in the parliament. Our communities, races and castes are far behind, economically, socially and education-wise. We don’t need a handout. We want our right- representation. That’s what reservation is for.” I still remember the class teacher saying out aloud in class that the SC/ST people are taking away their seats.

Some upper caste people say that their forefathers were the ones who did us wrong and they being their sons have nothing to do with their atrocities.

A thing about forgiveness is we cannot forgive. Forgiveness won’t bring our martyrs back. It won’t give us representation. Forgiveness won’t give us our rights in a democracy. Forgiveness will not undo the injustice that’s been done to us. So we cannot forgive. We want, we demand our place on the seat whether in university or parliament.

Racism and casteism has a tremendous impact on mental health. I cannot speak for others but I can speak for myself.

I never felt like I could be myself among non-tribal people. I never feel free to speak up or assert myself among them.

In India if there is a movement where lower caste people and other races are accepted as part of India and not seen as the other, then maybe people like me can assert our identities more openly and be ourselves. That will improve the mental health of people like me.

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