Disclosure: This article was first published in the March, 2020 Edition of New Letter of Movement for Global Mental Health (MGMH) The complex relationship between Work and Mental Illness Let me begin with the role “work” has played in keeping me sane in the conundrum of roller coaster life laced with the severity of the … Continue reading AKHILVAANI DAILY BULLETIN-COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK AND MENTAL ILLNESS

This piece has nothing to do with a book which i read once,  "Love in the Time of Cholera" written  by Nobel Prize wining Colombian Author Garbriel Garcia Marquez. This poignant novel had nothing to do with cholera though in the words of novelist himself  the lovesickness of key protagonists that was so pronounced in … Continue reading AKHILVAANI DAILY BULLETIN: LOVE IN THE TIME OF MADNESS

Akhilvaani returns after a long hiatus. It has been silent for a long time. And this silence has been deafening and crippling for me. Both in the extremity of "Madness and Sadness" writing was farthest from my mind. Truth beckons it was not even an option. Life and times were harrowing to say the least … Continue reading akhilvaani returns: Daily Bulletin

Author's Note" This blog is the the largest piece of a single article in any format written by the Author. It has a reason and a  purpose. Its proximate reason is a recent debate triggered on social media platform Twitter in India (including in the psychiatric community) that due its serious side effects Lithium has … Continue reading History of Lithium Therapy- Gold Standard Treatment for Bipolar Disorder and My Tryst with Lithium

For long marriages in India were considered sacrosanct, fixed in heavens and were to last at least full life if not next.  Sanctity of marriage in Indian society is reflected in the low divorce rate in the country. India with 1% divorce rate is considered to have lowest divorce rate in the world while the … Continue reading Mental Illness and Marriage Laws in India- It is time to Reboot

Author's Note: Author does not claim to be either a researcher or a historian of Bipolar Disorder or any other form of Mental Illness. The quest for history of Bipolar Disorder, earlier known as Manic Depressive Insanity came from the desire to understand the rubrics and nuances of this type of madness which the author … Continue reading THE Brief History of Manic Depressive Insanity (Bipolar Disorder)- from Hippocrates to DSM-5

It is time to think unthinkable. Because it is time to bring out of closet the untalkable. What it is? And why it is important. Let there be a suspense for a bit and before coming straight to the point, let us look at diagnostic criteria of Bipolar Mania in  American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical … Continue reading Talking the Talk-Bringing out of the Closet the Taboo Word- Sexual Indiscretion in Bipolar Mania

Caveat: akhilvaani started came into being in 2017 as a considered response to removal of stigma around Mental Illness. It is  also a decisive platform which aims to create awareness by encouraging sufferers, care givers and other stakeholders to Own Up, Open Up and Talk Mental Illness. akhilvaani through the non invasive source of e-mail … Continue reading Ms. Shayonee Das Gupta Speaks-Other Warriors of Mental Health and ” D-Word” by Shubhrata Prakash helped me Open Up

Way back in 1998 when no one wanted to discuss his/ her mental illness in the country, God chose me as the poster boy of Mental Illness. All my depressive breakdowns of catatonic numbness and destructive  psychotic manic flares were rather public events.  Two decades have gone by and during the period I had the … Continue reading Mental Hai Kya ?- Haan Main Hoon Na

A decade back activist Tarana Burke started #MeToo movement to kick-start mutual support and solidarity between survivors of sexual abuse. But the hashtag got the traction  and became viral overnight in 2017 once Alyssa Milano used it in support of friend Ross McGowan's allegation of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein. The 2017 and 2018 events are … Continue reading #IndiaMeTooMentallyIll Thy Time is Now