Updates from NAMASTE to design and develop a community engagement toolkit for Autism and Intellectual Disability in South Asia
Newsletter developed to support dissemination of findings to beneficiaries.
Experienced Mental Health Writer Therapist | Researcher | Content Creator
I have worked as a freelance blogger, copywriter, news features writer, and instructional designer for esteemed organizations like Mave Health, Happiest Health, Marbles Health, ThisDayApp by Ekank Technologies, Overcomers Counseling, and Behr Psychology. Having served as a mental health writer for over five years, my background as a therapist and researcher with lived experience of ADHD uniquely equips me to create jargon-free content delivered in a friendly tone. While my previous content spanned Politics, History, Heritage, and Lifestyle, my current focus lies in healthcare, particularly Mental Health and Psychology. I've tackled various pivotal topics such as self-care, anxiety management, addiction, and gaslighting, infusing human interest narratives with lived experiences and scientific rigor to avoid re-traumatization. Additionally, I've been recognized for my writing prowess, being a shortlisted winner of the Wingword Poetry Prize 2020.
My approach to content creation is:
- Creatively tailored to your preferred tone
- Non-judgmental, grounded in scientific literature
- Supported by firsthand and collective experiences
- Strategically enhanced with beginner-level SEO insights
Driven by a deep-seated passion for Psychology and Mental Health, my goal is to craft content that fosters acceptance, understanding, and ultimately encourages proactive help-seeking behaviors.
"Bhavya wrote a few blog posts for me and she did an incredible job. She is knowledgeable about mental health topics, takes feedback, and was very responsible!"
Jessica January Behr, Psy. D.
Licensed Psychologist, Founder & Director Behr Psychology
"A very focused and charming young psychologist, Bhavya is extremely passionate towards her work and is very methodical and composed in her approach to a case. Her ability to understand a problem and connect with people and the maturity with which she deals with it are incredible! More power to you, girl! ❤️"
Dr. Ankita Mittal
Founder and consultant OBGYN at Adrita
Previously Published
SSRIs: Types,Uses,Drug,Side effects & How they work[2024]
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), classified as anti-depressants, are medicines that interact within the brain and are prescribed to individuals to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. Though not conclusive, the consensus since the 1950s is that serotonin plays a key role in depression. Thus, the major aim of SSRIs is to increase serotonin levels in the brain.
While it may help some people, it may not help others depending on a myriad of factors including the nature of t
While it may help some people, it may not help others depending on a myriad of factors including the nature of t
Navigating ADHD: Understanding Diagnosis and Its Impact
In the face of stress and anxiety or on an odd bad day, we can each experience difficulties in focusing, paying attention and feeling organised.
Maybe you wake up, forget that appointment, realise you didn't pay attention to the balance on your metro card and are further late for your meeting. You may feel bizarre and think “Ugh, I need to plan better!”
Many of these tasks are related to focus, attention, memory and organization, i.e., tasks of executive functioning
Maybe you wake up, forget that appointment, realise you didn't pay attention to the balance on your metro card and are further late for your meeting. You may feel bizarre and think “Ugh, I need to plan better!”
Many of these tasks are related to focus, attention, memory and organization, i.e., tasks of executive functioning
How CBT Approach helps in Treating Anxiety
Sometimes our thoughts can get so dark that it can feel like, “I don't want to be here in my head!” It gets difficult to track which thought started it all trailed us off to the path of anxiety. With cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a psychologist helps you to identify and address the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that create such anxiety. In CBT, the therapist collaborates with the client to identify patterns and implement changes that promote well-being. First, let’s understand anxiety
PARENT A PLANT FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
Plants may be the new safe space for your mental well being
Finding Serotonin | Outlive
Sometimes I find old pieces of catharsis. I say so because even though I've engaged in therapy for my madness, I've only found solace in writing. Everything I feel, every thought that occupies my being, every shadow of doubt and heartbreak, can be found on scraps of paper, on the last page of my notebooks, or in my digital documents.
The one that I found recently reads as follows:
The one that I found recently reads as follows:
Ways to overcome productivity guilt
Delhi-based Sanya Verma’s (name changed) pursuit of productivity went beyond just ticking off tasks on a checklist. As a student of gender studies, she found fulfilment in being fully engaged throughout her day. Her journey was not always marked by quantifiable measures, but rather by the emotional gratification that accompanies the completion of every task. This contentment stood apart from the challenges prevalent in a world fixated on tangible outcomes. But without tangible outputs she was st
Beyond distraction: understanding the multifaceted nature of ADHD
Hitha Vijayakumar, 36, a media producer from Kerala, struggles with focus, attention, and organisation. In her upbringing, where gender roles played a significant part, she felt the pressure to match the conventional idea that girls should embody tidiness. This expectation fuelled her need to meticulously arrange things, obsessively prioritise the need to “be in order”, that eventually led to anxiety.
It was in her adulthood when she was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (
It was in her adulthood when she was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (
How to focus with adult ADHD?
Imagine having multiple tabs open on your browser, all for a forgotten project that is due in just two hours. You want to prioritise what to read first, but strangely, you are unable to close any tab. Now picture this scenario happening every single day. This is the daily struggle for people living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder that affects individuals’ impulse control, organisational skills, and focus.
Individuals who are neurodiver
Individuals who are neurodiver
Teletherapy: Is it for you?
In a world where connections transcend physical boundaries, a new form of healing is reshaping the landscape of mental health therapy. Through virtual windows to the human mind, we witness the triumphs, challenges and poignant moments that unfold when healing transcends time and space.
Step into a realm where healing knows no borders: the world of teletherapy.
Tele-psychotherapy provides emotional help across distances using telecommunication. Such services may involve live or real-time intera
Step into a realm where healing knows no borders: the world of teletherapy.
Tele-psychotherapy provides emotional help across distances using telecommunication. Such services may involve live or real-time intera
Is meditation an option for you?
Kavya Nambiar, a working professional with gestational diabetes, had trouble regulating her fasting blood sugar levels. Diet and walking helped regulate her post-meal blood sugar levels, but she had no way to control her fasting levels. After trying everything, she chanced upon meditation.
A week after she started meditation, her fasting blood sugar levels dropped. Meditation has helped her regulate her fasting blood sugar levels and “relieve my anxieties and stress about my pregnancy.”
While
A week after she started meditation, her fasting blood sugar levels dropped. Meditation has helped her regulate her fasting blood sugar levels and “relieve my anxieties and stress about my pregnancy.”
While
Mood trackers: an easy-to-use tool to understand your emotions
Kanak Kejriwal, an undergraduate student in psychology from Delhi, vouches for the benefits of tracking one’s moods. The effort is worth it, she says.
Tracking one’s mood, according to her, can help to identify the triggers or factors that disrupt sleep, diet, and other daily activities.
“It generates useful insights,” she says. “Some of its benefits are that you are aware of your mood, and your environment, and hence your, awareness of your triggers increases.”
Mood trackers are an easy-to-u
Tracking one’s mood, according to her, can help to identify the triggers or factors that disrupt sleep, diet, and other daily activities.
“It generates useful insights,” she says. “Some of its benefits are that you are aware of your mood, and your environment, and hence your, awareness of your triggers increases.”
Mood trackers are an easy-to-u
6 Ways to Reduce Anxiety Naturally
Anxiety is a complex emotion that is felt by everyone at different points in time. While most anxiety is healthy, there are times when people experience anxiety in a way that they themselves find to be extremely stress-inducing in their everyday life. If anxiety is a hassle in your daily life, there are some ways to . However, it should be noted that in certain instances Anxiety becomes a medical condition and should be dealt with, with the support of a trained professional.
Before we delve
Before we delve
Situational Depression: Causes, Symptoms, Coping, and Treatment
It is an informal term used to describe the experiencing of symptoms of depression following a highly stressful event.
It is not a clinical disorder and only resembles the symptoms of Clinical Depression, which is a mood disorder. Although, in some instances, it may translate into an Adjustment Disorder with a depressed mood.
It is short-term, related to stress, and often developed after exposure to stressful events. It is also sometimes known as reactive depression.
There could be man
It is not a clinical disorder and only resembles the symptoms of Clinical Depression, which is a mood disorder. Although, in some instances, it may translate into an Adjustment Disorder with a depressed mood.
It is short-term, related to stress, and often developed after exposure to stressful events. It is also sometimes known as reactive depression.
There could be man
Surf The Urge of Addiction
Urge surfing is an extremely powerful tool used by therapists often for people who fight the urges linked to addiction. But, before we answer what is urge surfing, let's understand: what are urges? Is there a part of you that comes up to persuade you for something often and persistently?\
If yes, what you are experiencing is an urge! Urges give us valuable insight into how we experience ourselves and things around us. For example, if you feel hungry, your body urges you to provide it with some
If yes, what you are experiencing is an urge! Urges give us valuable insight into how we experience ourselves and things around us. For example, if you feel hungry, your body urges you to provide it with some
Finding Your Safe Space
Our journey towards mental well-being and health often draws us toward inner reflection. These reflections could be about healthy and unhealthy behaviors, people, and places in our lives. Especially if we have gone through rough experiences and trauma, we become more susceptible to feeling unsafe constantly. Be it our mind or body, it feels like there's a constant race going on, and our thoughts are winning. Helping our mind and body feel safe requires a for ourselves, whether it is somewhere ou
5 Lies Depression Tells You
t starts from something small but loops into a big yarn that seems challenging to untangle.
These thoughts or beliefs are not exclusive to depression, and everyone experiences these from time to time.
However, constant negative thoughts like "I'm not good enough, or "I'm not loveable" definitely contribute to one's Depressive moods.
These thoughts often become a part of us, but it's important to remember that they are the .
There are 5 most common cognitive distortions when
These thoughts or beliefs are not exclusive to depression, and everyone experiences these from time to time.
However, constant negative thoughts like "I'm not good enough, or "I'm not loveable" definitely contribute to one's Depressive moods.
These thoughts often become a part of us, but it's important to remember that they are the .
There are 5 most common cognitive distortions when
Demystifying Stigma: What is it and how to curb it?
This term was extrapolated to what is now the social construct of ‘Stigma’.
Goffman (1963) in his book: Stigma:Notes on The Management of Spoiled Identity, explains that our routine or habituated social interactions allow us to deal with “anticipated others” without much differentiation to them if they fit in the “social identity” that is manifested in out minds and demanded by us from them; however, a stranger whose attributes are “undesirable” to us is “reduced in our minds from a whole person to a tainted, discounted one”.
Although Stigma can be found across a host of social situations, in the case of Psychiatric Disorders, Arboleda-Florez (2002) explains that Mental Illness is associated with shame and weakness of character and causes the person who is suffering and their family to be apprehensive and thus, hide the person’s symptoms or hide the person themselves to avoid exclusion from society.
Goffman (1963) in his book: Stigma:Notes on The Management of Spoiled Identity, explains that our routine or habituated social interactions allow us to deal with “anticipated others” without much differentiation to them if they fit in the “social identity” that is manifested in out minds and demanded by us from them; however, a stranger whose attributes are “undesirable” to us is “reduced in our minds from a whole person to a tainted, discounted one”.
Although Stigma can be found across a host of social situations, in the case of Psychiatric Disorders, Arboleda-Florez (2002) explains that Mental Illness is associated with shame and weakness of character and causes the person who is suffering and their family to be apprehensive and thus, hide the person’s symptoms or hide the person themselves to avoid exclusion from society.
Understanding Menopause
Menopause is defined as the permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from loss of ovarian follicular activity. (WHO, 1981) The average mean of menopause onset in Indian women ranges from 41.2 to 49.4 years, as opposed to western societies where natural menopause occurs between 45 and 55 years of age. (Ahuja, 2016; Pallikadavath et al., 2016)
Ahuja (2016) explains that the age of onset in menopause is a critical piece of information, not only because it marks the loss of fertility but because it serves as a predictor for many midlife diseases that can be prevented with timely intervention.
Ahuja (2016) explains that the age of onset in menopause is a critical piece of information, not only because it marks the loss of fertility but because it serves as a predictor for many midlife diseases that can be prevented with timely intervention.
The Doctor Who Turned to Saffron
Born on 1st April 1889, Hedgewar hailed from Nagpur and lost his parents at the tender age of thirteen to the plague. However, this did not stop Dr Keshav from setting back. His uncle ensured a well-rounded education for him.
So when did his political roots start?
In his high school years, young Hedgewar came in touch with young associates of B.S Moonje and bore punishment in the form of expulsion for singing "Vande Mataram," which the British colonial rule ha
So when did his political roots start?
In his high school years, young Hedgewar came in touch with young associates of B.S Moonje and bore punishment in the form of expulsion for singing "Vande Mataram," which the British colonial rule ha
