Author: Dr. Shruti Bhattacharya

In some of my previous blog posts, I have discussed how journaling can be a positive influence on your mental health and overall life. Journaling is one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of personal growth and self-reflection. Journaling goes much beyond simply writing down your day-to-day activities. It is a transcending and transforming experience that allows you to understand yourself better and navigate the complexities of life. Whether it is fingers on a keyboard or pen to paper, research has shown that journaling helps reduce stress, improves one’s well-being, and finally enhances one’s emotional intelligence. The use of daily…

When we are in pain, all we want is for the pain to be gone. But when we suffer from acute pain over the long term, painkillers like opioids become our best friend. Unfortunately in some cases, even after the pain is gone, the person keeps using the opioids. This is what gives rise to opioid addiction. Medically, opioid addiction or opioid use disorder (OUD) is defined by the presence of chronic and relapsing substance abuse behavior. This in turn leads to a variety of psychological, social, and physical consequences. The opioid addiction epidemic has reached an unprecedented proportion in…

ADHD or Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity disorder is known as a neurodevelopmental disorder. This is primarily characterised by the presence of hyperactivity, inattention impulsivity patterns and has an enormous negative impact on the daily functioning of the individual. They have immense difficulties in maintaining their focus and attention towards the task at hand. They also have problems with impulse control. Their absence of impulse control leads to shopping sprees, impulsive decision-making, and other impulse-based actions. ADHD can manifest at any age. It may start showing symptoms during childhood or become visible during adulthood stages. The question this blog aims to address…

Living in a world where you don’t experience anxiety is an impossible situation. Most of us go through some form of anxiety at some point in our lives. It is a part and parcel of handling stress regularly. However, some forms of anxiety can be more debilitating than others. One of these is the generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD is a pretty pervasive and common mental health condition that is characterized by the presence of constant and excess worry over every aspect of one’s life; whether this aspect can be controlled or not. Those who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder…

It is time that mental health moves out of the shadows and into the light. We are all struggling. Plastering a smile on your face and saying “everything is alright’ ‘is okay for assuring your loved ones. However, lying to yourself is not a solution. You deserve better and you should be able to reach out and get it. This has made it essential that the need for mental health help is brought forward and into the light. Thus it has become crucial that the stigma about general counseling is removed as soon as possible. The General Counseling stigma Even…

Want to be more productive? Trick your mind to be more focused. Want to lead a positive lifestyle? Trick your mind to develop good habits, you will automatically be more positive. Mind tricking is not a new field. This has been there for a very long time. In simple language, mind tricking involves employing subtle maneuvers that are referred to as mind tricks. These psychology techniques leverage the different nuances of human perception, cognition, and finally behavior to influence your decisions and thought processes. Mind tricking involves using various methods from strategic communication to subtle suggestions for shaping the person’s…

Being a perfectionist, although considered to be a great trait has its own fallacies. Perfectionism is a double edged sword. Those who pursue it get stuck in a search of flawlessness and a crippling fear of failing. People who identify as perfectionist, set impossible to achieve standards for themselves and then worry that they won’t be able to attain them. People grappling with perfectionism also have an insanse ideology that if their work is not PERFECT, it’s WORTHLESS. Nothing short of absolute perfection is acceptable to them. Unfortunately, this strive for excellence is not only restricted to their professional lives,…

If you have followed my YouTube channel, you know that there are 3 types of learners: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. You can either be one of these or you may be an amalgamation of two or all three. However, let’s do a deep dive into each, starting with those who are visual learners. What advantage do you have if you are a visual learner? How do visual learners fare better than others? What are their advantages in real life, problem-solving, tackling difficulties, etc.? From the classroom to collaborative projects, a visual learner has benefits everywhere, if they know how to…

Anxiety is something that affects all of us from time to time. We all go through it. Even though anxiety affects both genders, the manifestation of anxiety in women is different from how it manifests in men. Increase in studies focussing on anxiety has now forced researchers to start understanding anxiety symptoms in women due to the wide variety of responses that differ for anxiety in men and women. In this article, I will show you how anxiety shows different symptoms in case of females compared to men. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to anxiety. Here we…

The world of academia is fast-paced and every student is competing for the top spot. The most common pursuit is those of A grades and optimal performance. The students are constantly cramming, navigating through complicated subjects, preparing for their upcoming exams and trying to achieve academic success. However, with the amazing rewards, comes its own challenges. This blog post will focus on how you can boost performance to excel in your academics without experiencing a burn out. In this article. I will not only focus on traditional methods of study but also on other holistic approaches like mindfulness, use of…