Dr. T. Rama Prasad's Scribblings...: FEAR, STRESS and PSYCHOSIS

'Scribbling' by Dr. T. Rama Prasad

Who is fearless and stress-free ?

MODERN LIFESTYLE is loaded with fear, STRESS and mental imbalance. Most of the people know that FEAR may lead to STRESS and that stress may lead to PSYCHOSIS. But, many may not know the extensiveness of the problem. Fear of not being able to accomplish according to the set goals and targets -- may be marks, work, promotions, earnings, achievements, expectations, etc -- may lead to STRESS. The stress may lead to anxiety, tension, depression and mental disorders, and even suicides.

People are increasingly afraid of numerous things, real and imaginary. Media contribute a lot to build up fear. "COVID FEAR" is an example. Did it do good or bad. It's debatable. "EXAMINATIONS FEAR" stressed both the students and their parents. "WORKPLACE FEAR" impacted both the employees and employers. Out of fear of death, during the COVID pandemic, STEROID drugs were used indiscriminately. Many died due to Mucormycosis promoted by the steroids !

WARS have been going on out of fear. "TERRITORIAL FEAR" and "EXISTENTIAL FEAR" launch wars. A huge geo-political issue. America is afraid of China, and China is afraid of America; Ukraine is afraid of Russia, and Russia is afraid of Ukraine, and so on. It resulted in all sorts of stress which is leading to widespread psychological illness. Politicians are no exception. They make aberrant and insane statements. And attack with bitter diatribes. See the news and cartoons below.

Yes, Mr Trump. Most of the people, including celebrities like you, are 'impaired' due to stress ! What happens when they are voted to power !

Years ago, not cognisant of his bias, the POTUS declared that HCQ drug would wipe away COVID and wondered why disinfectants were not injected into the body to get rid of the virus !

He had the "Mind Power" and the needed resilience to go back to the White House again. There is a comment on his teammate Elon Musk below:

Many of the diseases which we see nowadays are due to psychological stress. They have been on the increase during and after the COVID pandemic. Often, we investigate those cases a lot and find no organic disease.

A recent revelation by the National Medical Commission brought to focus a shocking situation. We used to think that medical people are more strong psychologically, and mentally very fit to counsel patients. Read the following facts.

The psychological pressure made many a NEET student and a medico mentally wreck. The specialists in the profession are no exception. They are all stressed. The stress made many doctors commit mistakes and malpractices which earned them the name 'butchers'.

"The NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION (NMC) has revealed in August 2024 that an alarming number of medical students have MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS and suicidal ideation. This problem is present among other students also, and also among the public. More so, after the onset of the COVID pandemic. This seems to be a part of the evolution due to the changes in mindset and lifestyle, and the resultant STRESS in life with increasingly unrealistic goals seems to be inescapable. Is not TRUMP having mental health issues ? Who is not, even Kamala Harris has, says Donald Trump !!!" -- Dr. T. Rama Prasad. https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com

During the half-a-century after 1970, the enormously increased psychological stress in education and work had radically changed the lifestyle of people across all ages, making many of them lose their mental balance. The medical chief of the US (Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy) said (October 13, 2024) that social media has created mental health issues particularly among young people grappling with feelings of inadequacy and isolation through a culture of comparison that impacts self-esteem. He called for urgent reforms in medical education to better integrate mental health training to address the issues of academic, economic and social pressures on people.

The FLUBS & FAUX PAS are due to stress ... very entertaining. we missed them after you had withdrawn from the Presidential Race.

The theme of WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY of OCTOBER 10, 2024 is about "PRIORITISING MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE."

It is so because of the recent escalation of sad and distressing happenings at workplaces. It may be shocking to know that in India alone 11,486 professionals in the private sector committed suicide due to "overwork." The brutal work culture is based upon competitive business economy which focuses on cost-cutting, unrealistic profit goals and pressurising to work long hours on strenuous conditions. Even hospitals are no exception, public or private.

There has been a growing mental health crisis in India where success is often equated with relentless productivity and material wealth. Often, the professionals, including doctors, put up a facade of success and contentment, with the accumulation of wealth. Urban lifestyle, financial instability and fierce competition often pressurise people to take to grinding work schedules which may lead to mental problems. suffer from conditions such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse, according to The Lancet Psychiatry Commission. These days, everything else is overshadowed by the desire to excel in productivity, affluence and materialism. While the material gains of over work assure temporary comforts, they fail to meet the emotional and psychological needs of a human being. Just as "bribe & tips" are viewed as "normal", "over work & mental aberrations" may be passed off as "normal." Employers and employees come to justify and consider the gruelling work and the mental deviations as normal, and the COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY, a psychological concept, would explain how all this is 'normal'. Donald Trump said that Kamala Harris was 'mentally impaired'.

During the half-a-century after 1970, the enormously increased psychological stress in education and work had radically changed the lifestyle of people across all ages, making many of them lose their mental balance. The US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy said (October 13, 2024) that social media has created mental health issues particularly among young people grappling with feelings of inadequacy and isolation through a culture of comparison that impacts self-esteem. He called for urgent reforms in medical education to better integrate mental health training to address the issues of academic and social pressures on people.

CELEBRITY YOUNG HEART DEATHS: A 42-year-old Rohan Mirchandani, CEO of Greek Yogurt brand Epigamia died of a sudden cardiac arrest onDec 21, 2024. A 36-year-old Rohan Malhotra, Co-founder of VC firm Good Capital passed away due to cardiac arrest on Oct 3, 2024. A 51-year-old Ambareesh Murty, Co-founder of Pepperfry Furniture company died due to heart attack in Aug 2023. There are scores of such cases, celebrities and common people. 50% of all heart attacks in Indian men occur under 50 years of age, rich or poor.

Stress may be among the many factors that are responsible for these untimely deaths.

STRESS starts at LKG and ends at graveyard.

Go back to villages and lead a stress-free life. Not possible ? Then, learn to live with stress.

For GORU, the stress ended during her childhood.
An anecdote about “GORU”

During my childhood, one of my schoolmates had huge nails. Her name was Gowri. We nicknamed her as ‘Goru’ (‘goru’ in Telugu means nail of a finger or toe ). They used to say that her huge nails caused a problem in her heart. It might be a case of ‘Digital Clubbing’ (abnormal nails present in some ‘Congenital Heart Diseases’). After one summer vacation, ‘Goru’ didn’t come back to the school. It was learnt that she died due to the nail / heart problem, and that treatment could not be availed as they didn’t have money to pay for it.

Perhaps, this incident prompted me to look at everyone’s nails from that time which might have led me to report the first case from India of ‘Yellow Nail Syndrome (YNS)’ from India in 1980 (published in an American journal, CHEST) and the first case in the world of ‘Yellow nails & Covid’ in 2023, published in an Indian journal, THE ANTISEPTIC - https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/yellow-nail syndrome_28.html

And perhaps, the preventable death of ‘Goru’ due to the inability to pay for the treatment motivated me to start my ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic (PWYCC) half-a-century ago where patients may pay whatever they can. No fixed fee ( http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/06/pay-what-you-can-clinic.html ). The credit for these case reports on YNS and the starting of my PWYCC should go to ‘Goru’. Thanks to “Goru”.

-- T. Rama Prasad

More at : https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/dr-t-rama-prasad.html

This is not an ad, it’s about an odd service.

GREETINGS from

‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ Clinic

“Thena thyakthena bhoojithaha”– Ishopanishad

( Translated by Prof. B.M. Hegde as: “Rejoice in giving.”)

True to this quote, I have been rejoicing at what little I could give. Defying stereotypes, this clinic has been in existence for a very long time, sans glitz, blitz, ads, microphones, speeches and noise. As a matter of my policy, publicity is shunned. The reason is simple. Good work needs no noise and nonsense. My ‘SCRIBBLINGS’ on related topics may be accessed at: http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com

My consultation fee is not decided by me. It is the patient’s pleasure. The patient may pay (donate) whatever he can and what he wishes. If one is short of money, he or she need not pay anything. The money may just be put into the ‘hundi’ box kept outside the consultation room. And the money thus received is used for charity to help the needy, the poor and the less fortunate. If interested to know more about this facility, go to: http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/06/pay-what-you-can-clinic.html . And, if you wish, you may also 'contribute what you can' through bank (Dr. RAMA PRASAD T, A/C No. 451075868, INDIAN BANK, IFS CODE IDIB000P155, PERUNDURAI, Erode District, Tamil Nadu - 638052 ).

"We need not run after money. If we are meritorious and compassionate, money would run after us, and it eludes us if we run after it.” -- T. Rama Prasad

“Richness is not having lots of money. It is the feeling that one has enough of it. Contentment sans comparison is what makes one really rich.” -- T. Rama Prasad.

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Consult your local doctor before rushing to me

Most ailments can be cured at local level

Go back to villages and lead a stress-free life. Not a possibility ? Then, learn to live with stress !

The following is a list of some of my 'scribblings', including a few from the 28 articles on COVID published in a monthly medical journal in 30 months (a world record). To open them, click on any of the titles. -- T. Rama Prasad

Blog Archive

· ▼ 2017 (115)

o ▼ March (1)

§ COVID MEDICAL LITERATURE

o ▼ April (112)

§ OREIKLE

§ DEEPAAVALI

§ Science and Nonsense about COVID

§ AMC BATCH 1959 (revised)

§ Nurses Day 2017

§ FOOD, EXERCISE and SLEEP

§ OMICRON -- a paper tiger ?