“Psycho-oncology is like a kaleidoscope, it is a part of health and medical psychology which uses psychological techniques to act as a bridge between the multidisciplinary teams(oncologists, pharmacists, nurses, dieticians, social workers) and is also a standalone field with an interdisciplinary outlook. With every twist, there is a new angle to the situation for every patient and their families are different and so is their cancer. Care in Psycho-oncology is based on providing 360-degree support with a bio-psycho-socio- spiritual model to patients, families, and oncologists through the cancer journey. We in India are a country filled with many cultures, regions, religions, beliefs, and value systems. There is so much stigma and taboo attached to most of the aspects in India, and people are terrified of being labelled even more so with mental health issues. There is such a skewed understanding of what it means to be mentally ill that people either refuse to acknowledge it or are ashamed of having it. If its this way for the general mental health, we can only imagine the impact of cancer and the spectrum of mental health issues they would undergo as a patient in a society which already has many stereotypes associated with the cancer.

A lot of people think “baath karne se kya hoga?”, “pichola doctor daggariki ki enduku elthunavu?”, what they don’t realize is that we have trained many years for that one hour of communication we have with them. As a country, we have been conditioned to trivialize the concept of mental health. We are inclined to deceive ourselves and live in denial of the issues we are facing and unable to handle, but haven’t we as a society and our lifestyles progressed, why do we refuse to normalize something as pertinent as mental health?

Lately, there has been more talk about mental health, and I think we largely have celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, and movies like Dear Zindagi to thank for it. When people like them who are role models in today’s day begin to use their platforms to normalize mental illness, it loses the negative connotation associated with it and becomes a part and parcel of life. As a society we focus on IQ and considered it strongly, then why don’t we also focus on our social quotient (SQ) and emotional quotient (EQ) which predominantly elicits our human side it gets sidelined, why?

To be honest, as a mental health professional, it can get extremely difficult to detach yourself from the lives of your patients. The first time I lost one of my patients, it impacted me and for a week and I moped around, after which I have trained got skills and knowledge on how to handle myself and my patients wins and losses equally. However, many a times I’ve heard a patient say that I am the only person they look forward to seeing every day, which has always been one of major reason behind why I go back to the hospital every day. Every single one of my patients has changed me in one way or another for the past 12 years and I am ever grateful as it has been an enlightening journey so far. It really, truly has given me a chance to be a better human being.

I do have to mention that while I absolutely do advocate therapy, it is particularly important to be wary of who you go to. There are several quacks out there that can possibly make your situation worse, to the point where it is incurable, verify your therapist’s credentials before you place your life into their hands. You cannot open a dam and not know how to handle a flood, right? That being said, people shy away from counselling and therapy, but honestly, it helps so much. We have to slightly but constantly keep moving away from the negative mindset towards counseling and see it in light of the help and assistance if provides anyone and everyone of all ages to have someone to talk to, to handhold you and tell you that “it’s okay to not be okay” and to assure them that “we are there for them with absolutely no judgements, complete acceptance and unconditional positive regard irrespective of their situations”. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that “baath karne se bohut kuch hota hai, puch karkey oh dekho”. So may be just try once again and give yourself the chance to be heard, we are here to listen.”

#MentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #BreaktheStigma #Psychology #Taboo #Society #BreakingBarriers #Life #Healthcare #People #Awareness #Mindset #Positivity #Hyderabad #HumansofHyderabad