India and the United States recently reached an agreement to help each other in the area of mental health. That may sound good, but the intent of the Indian government looks suspect as it spends just 33 paise, or less than 1 U.S. cent, on a mental health sufferer in a whole year. The United States will open up its market for traditional Indian therapies like yoga and Ayurveda medicines for mental illnesses and also give access to U.S. research on mental health, according to the agreement signed during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first official visit to India in February.
Alternative medicine and therapies from India might prove to be effective in America, but what about Indian sufferers? Does India really need more research input when it has not acted on what it already knows?
Over 90 million Indians, or 7.5 percent of the country’s population of 1.3 billion, suffer from some form of mental disorder, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
So about these things we asked some few questions to mental health content creator and a therapist Divija Bhasin.
Q1) So firstly Tell us something about yourself, from where you completed your studies, and how your Instagram journey started?
I have completed my M.Sc. in Applied Clinical Psychology from the University of Bath. I started making TikTok’s during the lockdown and switched to Instagram once it was banned in India. I like making all kinds of lighthearted content but try to incorporate mental health and other important issues in it. I prefer to educate my audience through entertainment.
Q2) How difficult were things on social media, when you started posting your awareness videos?
It wasn’t very difficult since people seem to accept and appreciate my content a lot. I often get messages about how I made people aware of things they didn’t know about regarding their mental health.
Q3) You’re practicing as a therapist, So what is that one major problem you see nowadays, and also because of your videos many people share their problems so, what major problems do you see there?
One major problem most of my clients seem to have is the problem of anxiety and overthinking. The pandemic has made it worse for a lot of people and also created a sense of loneliness since they aren’t able to go out.
Q4) As you’re a therapist, I’m sure you hear many myths about mental health and I remember in one of your videos where you busted one about depression, So would you tell our readers about those myths?
Some of the common myths about mental health are that only people who are “crazy” seek therapy. There’s also a notion that people who are undergoing mental health problems are weak and choosing to be that way. These are all things that are obviously not true.
Q5) I’ve seen your videos on awareness and personally liked them, so do you have any major plans relating to this?
I don’t have any specific plans. I’m just taking things as they come and I’d like to reach a bigger audience so more people get aware of mental health problems and therapy.
Q6) Mam in your opinion, how social media affecting people’s mental health and stability?
Social media is both good and bad. For some people, it helps to find a safe space where they can find like-minded people but for some it becomes toxic. It’s all about finding the balance.
Q7) I saw your stories where you are telling people the truth about Instagram psychological facts pages, and telling people not to believe in those, so could you tell us more about that?
There’s a lot of misinformation being spread under the name of psychology. This information is not psychology. It comes in the form of those “psychology facts” posts. I hope people are able to distinguish between facts and fake information.
Q8) I’m sure you’re aware, that our parent’s generation don’t take mental health as seriously as our physical health, So would you like to give them a message?
I would just like to tell them – I know there weren’t many ways to know about mental health in your generation so it’s understandable why you don’t take it seriously. But please try to read up since there are so many resources available now. You could save your child’s life.
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