Author Archive for vjayakumar

12
Mar

MORE POWER TO THE PEOPLE

CAN A ‘TRANSFORMER’…TRANSFORM LIVES?

……..Well it just DID!! The transformer near The Banyan village in Kovalam, just managed to light up a few lives around it and it has been named The Banyan SS1( read: The Banyan Sub Station 1 )!!!
 
Few months ago when we had been to the Electricity Board office in Chengleput to request them to set up a transformer near the PC, as the electricity supply in PC and the nearby vicinity was just 70 VOLTS( very very low), The Superindentent Engineer looked at us very skeptically and asked us if we were sure of what we were saying.

The SE stated that there was no place in the entire nation that had electricity supply as low as 70 VOLTS. and he felt we were talking without knowing facts.

However the Assistant engineer from Kovalam explained on the existing situation of very low voltage in the area, and the SE swung his men into action.

From then on after repeated follow ups and reminders, today the transformer has come up in the PC site and now the voltage in the PC and the nearby vicinity is 240 VOLTS…!!

The residents of the PC had a pooja for the Transformer!! along with the EB guys who got it installed..

The lights in the PC are no longer dim and we never had a chance to run the generator, and most importantly, thanks to this effort of ours that the entire village around PC gets to glow a little brighter in the nights.
 
Just wanted to share with you on how an entire community has benefitted for a lifetime with the interest taken by The Banyan ( especially Ashok Sir)!!
 
 
Porkodi.PL

Sr. Co-ordinator, CMHP
(Community Mental Health Programme)

11
Feb

When In God We Trust

Courtesy: http://www.thehealthblog.net/mental-health/religious-activity-and-mental-health/

Religious Activity and Mental Health

Written by Charlie on January 23, 2008

women in churchWhile we’re on the subject of mental health, I ran across a blog post detailing the results of a study on the correlation between religious activity and mental health. The study was conducted by Joanna Maselko, Sc.D of Temple University. She says that “One’s lifetime pattern of religious service attendance can be related to psychiatric illness.” Interesting, isn’t it?The results of the study indicate that women who stop their religious activity are three times more likely to suffer from mental problems such as general anxiety and alcohol abuse or dependence. However, the results are not the same for the opposite sex. In fact, for men who have always been religiously active, stopping religious activity would make them less prone to depression and similar problems!

Maselko’s explanation for this disparity? “Women are simply more integrated into the social networks of their religious communities. When they stop attending religious services, they lose access to that network and all its potential benefits. Men may not be as integrated into the religious community in the first place and so may not suffer the negative consequences of leaving.”

I grew up in church. I went to Sunday School weekly as a kid – actually well way into my college years, when I attended the weekly services. To be honest, I haven’t attended church in ages. I suppose looking back, the study does apply to me. However, I am sure that there are those who may not have had the same experience. Nevertheless, I think this study and its findings are quite intriguing, don’t you think?

15
Jan

That’s entertainment, folks! - IMH Movie Review

audience.jpg
Dear all….
On 04.01.2008 for the third time we have screened movie in Institute of Mental Health. This time it was in male ward 6. I thought to share my experience with you all.This time we have screened Tamil movie “UNNALE UNNALE”. Me, Cibin and Rajesh reached there by 1.30 P.M. In IMH 1.00 to 2.00 is lunch time for the residents. So all of them were busy in taking lunch. We three were busy in setting up the things. That time one of the resident named Kutti came there and he was observing the things happening.In the beginning of the movie there is one song in which girls were dancing and they are wearing “Micro mini Skirts”. By seeing that, Kutti felt embarrissed and he said ” Indha madhiri padam podadhiringa sir. Asingama irk. Ponnungalku thuniye illa.” :) The way he was telling was so funny. The thing i told this incident is, it was indicating how shy and innocent he is.

At 2 O’clock all the residents came and started enjoying the movie. I was sitting in the front and observing the reactions of the residents. All of them were so happy. In IMH there are people who are staying there for last 30 years!!!! Just imagine there feelings….. They have not gone to there home and not met there family members. 30 years is really a long period. Can u all just imagine whether that person knows to smile???? What u feel….????? “NO”??? U r wrong…….!!!! I saw that innocent smile on his face. He was enjoying the movie….

At the end i went and asked him how was the movie. He said ” Rumba nalla irindhadhu Madam. Ninge yellarume inge vandhu ippadi edhavathu activity panna nalla irku madam. inneku na rumba santhoshama irke.” :)

It was a good compliment for our work….

Thanks for reading this mail…..

Regards,
Soumya Raju
Jr. Co-ordinator
Rehab, Helpline

21
Dec

The Banyan Family’s Christmas Message

31
Oct

BRING LIGHT TO THE BANYAN’S 350 RESIDENTS THIS DIWALI

banyan468x60_2.gif

21
Oct

WE ARE NOT OUR DISEASE

does my mental health define me?

http://miquiecrew.wordpress.com/2007/09/20/138/  Thursday, September 20, 2007

Posted by miquie’s crew in health, personal.
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
trackback

NO, IT DOES NOT!!!
won’t let this build up

i have been diagnosed (mental health related) with: Depression (Major),  Bulimia (Eating Disorder), DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) formerly known as MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder), PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

depression kills drs say i have MPD someday i’ll love myself PTSD ad

i have depression along with the rest of my health issues as a result of genetics. it doesn’t help that there was abuse involved in our life either, but the abuse doesn’t say that we were pre-dispositioned to getting depression. however, for the diagnoses of DID and PTSD, there had to have been something traumatic in my life - abuse.

depression is NOT a choice 4 out of 5

my mental health is a part of me. i still have to live with it, day in and day out. i still have the thoughts every night of:

“Now i lay me down to sleep,
i pray the lord my soul to keep.
for if i die before i wake,
i pray the lord my soul to take.
… PLEASE let me die before i wake!”

we have said this poem, with the addition added on, from a young age.

last year we found out that my one uncle committed suicide on my father’s side, and i finally had proof that it is more genetically in our blood, than ever before. i know, we weren’t the only ones with depression. i was told when we were younger that an aunt of ours did try to commit suicide. don’t know how reliable that is, but that was something we heard a long time ago.

suicide and the sense

my depression is severe. when my depression hits … it hits hard to being beyond debilitating. where getting up hurts. where every night i say that prayer - just for the hope that we’ll be able to sleep and never wake up. and it is severe right now.

things to do today psychiatrist and life

there is something else you should know about us …
we do have a life outside of our mental health issues. somewhere. somedays, it is hard to find life, but we do. on those special days, we do enjoy things like … writing, drawing, painting, doodling, TKD, playing with the dogs, going outside, being with CS, existing (somewhat), and trying new things.

we are human. we have feelings. we love people and things. we get hurt when someone says something nasty to/about us. often people don’t hear us for what we want, they only see the mental health issues. we want to try new things. we have bad days and we have good days. sometimes the bad days outnumber the good, but the good days are worth it. we like talking to friends. we like sharing our drawings, paintings and even our doodles. we like writing what we have been feeling and experiencing. we have more than one person internally and somedays it is a blast. other days, having the rest of the crew can be so frustrating.

see, we are human. please don’t judge us, for we have feelings. when you judge us, you are judging not only this body, but everyone else who has a mental health issue, and a good chance a family member …

we are more than our mental health. except that there has been this stigma throughout all of society that those with mental health issues are banned from any and all conversations of getting better and mental health.

depression is more common i’m not crying doesn’t mean i am ok

the following is from CMHA-Saskatchewan:

“Mental illness is common. Statistics show that one in every five Canadians will have a mental health problem at some point in their lives.

Mental illnesses account for a large percentage of hospital stays every year. Yet, in spite of the fact that every Canadian knows someone who has been, or will be, affected by mental illness, few people know very much about it.

It is human nature to fear what we don’t understand. As such, mental illness is feared by many people and, unfortunately, still carries a stigma (a stigma is defined as a mark or sign of disgrace). Because of this stigma, many people hesitate to get help for a mental health problem for fear of being looked down upon. It is unfortunate that this happens because effective treatment exists for almost all mental illnesses. Worse, the stigma experienced by people with mental illness can be more destructive than the illness itself.

Words like “crazy”, “cuckoo”, “psycho”, “wacko” and “nutso” are just a few examples of words that keep the stigma of mental illness alive. These words belittle and offend people with mental health problems. Many of us use them without intending any harm. Just as we wouldn’t mock someone for having a physical illness like cancer or heart disease, it is cruel to make fun of someone with a mental illness.

People with mental disorders are, many times, not described accurately or realistically in the media. Movies, television and books often present people with mental illnesses as dangerous or unstable. News stories sometimes highlight mental illness to create a sensation in a news report, even if the mental illness is not relevant to the story. Advertisers use words like “crazy” to convey that their prices are unrealistically low and to suggest the consumer can take advantage of them.

You can help change the way mental illness is talked about in the media by speaking up.”

that is only in Canada. now imagine what the United States have for possible stats.

this ended up being a longer post than we expected. don’t know why it came up, but this has been brewing inside for a few days. usually when something like this comes up internally, we have to WRITE!!! so pardon us for letting this get to be sooooooooooooooooooooooo long …

no greater agony courage
never the same

06
Aug

Once a diplomat, one for life!

Vellodi2
V3 - The terrible threesome! - Being Chairman requires all the diplomatic skills and experience of M.A. Vellodi - the one man peace keeping force of The Banyan!

My first confrontation with the word ‘Social’ was in the context of the United Nations. The first Indian Chairman of the United Nations Economic and Social Council was Sir Arcot Ramaswamy Mudaliar and I had the honorofic title of “Adviser” which in that context gave me the task of distributing speeches and documents of the Indian Delegation to the rest.  
 
Mudaliar was a fine man. He never wore his habitual turban abroad and always sat upright on his chair and never moved his head except when speaking. He was an excellent speaker but always read from written text. Always written with Kohinoor lead pencil. If on going over it before delivery he found one word not quite appropriate, he would erase it with the bottom of his pencil and rewrite a more fitting word.The next time I saw Mudaliar was in the company of the one and only Mary Clubwala Jadhav. It was at a reception in her magnificent home at the corner of Sterling Road. Why I was asked to the party I never knew. I am sure it was a mistake as I was only a senior student in Loyola College at the time.  
 
The next time I saw Mrs. Clubwalla was in very sad circumstances. She had been very ill and her legs had been amputated. She was in a Bombay hospital where I went to pay my last respects. I was due to retire from Government in a few years.. She asked me what I intended to do after retirement. When this question was met by silence, she, in a low but clear voice, suggested to me that I consider helping the Guild of Service in whatever way I could. And today I am the Vice President of the Guild.  
 
It was in the Guild one afternoon that Vandana and Vaishnavi came to see me. They had been directed to me by Mr. K. N. George who felt that I might be able to advise them on how to proceed with their project which was nothing less than starting a home for destitute mentally ill women. Vandana said it as if the project was a tea shop on Casa Major Road. I was dumbstruck for a moment, Vandana noticed it and told me that they had been told all the negative aspects of their proposal and would I, for a change, mention a few positive elements. What struck me was the very plain fact they appeared totally committed but had very little knowledge of what their project involved in personnel, money and sheer relentless toil. They had their answers ready, da capo, ” We want to do this and we shall do this”. After such an opening there was nothing to do except to wish them well and give them a small donation on the occasion of their first anniversary which was due in the following week.  
 
I have watched Vandana and Vaishnavi at work and at play for over thirteen years. And I have got to know them as well as anyone can. Let not Vandana’s fine figure and Vaishnavi’s disarming smile, mislead you. They are tough and they know what they want. They are different - Vandana is ebullient, dedicated and passionate, loves dancing and adores her canine friends. Vaishnavi is private Though equally impassioned and committed, she does not like to reveal or share her thoughts and loves reading books and is a workaholic. They both have strong views but are complementary and are one on issues of substance.  
 
Perhaps the most significant innovation one finds in the offices of the Banyan is the very important role played by the staff in management. Not for them the formal agenda of long and heavy Committee meetings except in order to lay down the general framework within which one can play.  
 
Decisions are taken without hesitation as long as they are for the good of The Banyan. The incredible growth of The Banyan in networking , outreach, community health and even an academy for generating leadership in mental health have been possible only through the novel and untraditional working methods.  
 
Let me stop with the amazing story of three senior staff members, without any prior consultation and approval of their seniors are on the verge of entering into an agreement with the Kanchipuram District authorities for the total handling of all mental health problems and programmes in the district, a project which in the normal course would have involved referrals, second opinions and scores of meetings - and I am sure they will do a splendid job of it. Good Going, Banyan !