Should you see a therapist anytime soon?

In the coming few months on, there will hardly be any stigma about psychological difficulties, as they would be common as cold and diabetes. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the world into a state of setbacks, real losses, uncertainty, social and emotional turmoils and massive change. All the major aspects of life like physical, emotional, financial, professional and interpersonal health have been affected and anything that can affect all these at the same time has a potential to have a lasting adverse effect on human life.

A Psychologists' role is in the Development of normal people in growing eg. managing procrastination, reaching specific goals or improving productivity. They also help people in Distress, where people experience emotional distress triggered by adversities. Finally psychologists especially psychotherapists help people in psychological Disorders.

The earlier you consult a trained therapist, the better, and you don't have to have a disorder to consult one. Neither consulting means you have a disorder, which anyway isn't something to be ashamed of. Psychologists will teach you specific tools that will help you sail through the uncertain times, eg. adaptability, resilience, managing crisis, solving problems, decision making, assertiveness, anti-procrastination, managing emotions, and manage behaviours like emotional eating. The skills will act like shock ups on your bike when you are riding a rough trail.

Psychologists are rapidly upgrading their knowledge and polishing their skills to treat disorders like Depression, adjustment disorder, anxiety and OCD, PTSD, states like suicidality and behaviours such as self harm, drug or substance use, internet addiction etc. The basic rule remains, prevention is better than dealing with a problem once it develops.

Identify your risk factors of developing a state that needs professional intervention.
Add up the points and check yourself. For a more accurate assessment, consult a therapist/psychiatrist. 

Having gone through a major change at workplace- 3
Having lost a family member in the pandemic- 5
Having suffered the infection yourself- 5
Having suffered loss of significant relationship- 4
Having a friend who suffered a major loss- 2
Knowing someone who got infected- 2
Knowing someone who lost a job- 2
Having suffered financial loss- 4
Your partner going through a major change in life- 3
Having a history of depression in past- 4
Having a history of Anxiety disorder, OCD or any other major psychiatric disorder in past- 4
Being the sole breadwinner of the family- 3
Having a strong support system like close knit family, close friends and secure finances- Minus 5
Being physically healthy - Minus 4
Having handled crisis in past well- Minus 4
Feeling hopeless- 5
Having attempted suicide/self harm in past- A


26-46 High risk. You must consult a therapist and/or a psychiatrist today
11-25 Moderate risk. You should consult a therapist and/or a psychiatrist in the coming week
0-10 Low risk. You can consult a therapist/psychiatrist any day to have an accurate assessment of your risk, or learn skills to further lower your risk.

Regardless of the score, if you scored A, which stands for Action, consult the therapist or psychiatrist today. 

Dr Shishir Palsapure MD (Hom), MSc (Psy), Psychotherapist is an Associate fellow and Supervisor of Albert Ellis Institute, New York, USA (Level 2 training faculty) and the instructor of the online course 'Counselling clients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic'  for professionals.

The hidden truth about Social Media Wars

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a Facebook argument, feeling increasingly frustrated, anxious, angry, hurt, and shocked? You are not alone. Be it a political, religious or any controversial topic, a comment can quickly escalate into an argument, leaving you upset and restless till you win the argument. As elusive as the 'win' can get, you are almost there, and then presented with another argument, allegation, or a fact that only leads to a chain reaction.

There are some reasons why social media wars are the way they are:

1. When someone posts an angry post they already have negative beliefs against that person, community, religion, country, or ethnicity. Often such beliefs and possibly biases develop over many years, are deep-rooted and can be very strong.

2. When someone counters them (the poster) on social media, they come up with counter-argument and/or instigate the commenter.

3. The war becomes two-fold then (for both the parties)-
          a. Protecting their original deeply rooted belief
          b. Protecting their original stand in the public display

4. If the other party gets instigated, the argument escalates and leads to more and more hatred, anger and other negative feelings.

5. Neither of the parties give up or say 'Ok, you have a point, and..'  (unless their interpersonal relationship is super tight and filled with respect).

6. To relieve the discomfort, each party holds on to the fight, just like a gambler holds on to a losing game.

6. Sometimes, they give up the argument or block the other person when it reaches their tipping point, but they don't give up their beliefs. 

Another trigger comes up, and the cycle repeats. Finally, many of those who can manage to not get instigated, to not get triggered, to not believe in all the criticism that's thrown at them, and are able to see the futility of such 'discussions' can refrain sooner or later from getting sucked into the quicksand.