Thread by @psychidiaries

A personal story of my everyday life as #Psychiatrist in India.
This might help anyone who is new to the field or thinking of entering the uncharted waters of #mentalhealthprofession
Read on.
1/n
#MedTwitter #psychtwitter

Every day, you will be reminded of the stigma by your own colleagues from other fraternities & society at large, most of whom are oblivious to the importance of mental health themselves.
Wait, but that's not why I am writing this.
2/n

4-5 years back, when I entered this field, and if I was treated this way, I would have revolted and taken the organizers of the camp to the cleaners and fumingly left the place.
But not now.
3/n

Today in the 5th year of my journey as a mental health professional, I understand that while there are some organizers who wanted to have a Psychiatrist for the camp, there were some organizers who didn't want a Psychiatrist for the camp (for reasons better known to them!)
4/n

If I had left the place, it would not have made any difference to anyone.
Probably, those 1-2 organizers who wanted me to be there would have felt slightly embarrassed, but the camp would have continued as usual.
5/n

And because I had already blocked out the time and date, I didn't have anything else lined up either.
The only difference I could have made was by being there. I created a space for myself, got a paper out, and put on the board that a psychiatrist was available, too.
6/n

Don't I feel angry?
Don't I feel sad?
Yes. I do.
But after being in this field for some time now, I am quickly able to identify my emotions.
And then, rather than reacting, I am able to respond better.
The late, Dr. Viktor Frankl always comes to rescue.
7/n

More often than not, today, I am able to appreciate this 'space', which Dr. Frankl talked about.
Dr. Frankl was able to work in that 'space' in the most inhuman of all circumstances possible - at a concentration camp as a prisoner.
8/n

To be able to appreciate that 'space' between stimulus & response is the ultimate freedom.
Many people unfortunately live their lives without appreciating that space. Something which I did too, for a good 25 years of my life!
9/n

So, I chose to stay. Decided, I would use this opportunity to interact with all the other doctors out there, the nurses & urged them to refer any patient who needed mental health support or anybody who was annoying them them most. That's how most of the references come in.
10/n

The patients who appear to be most 'annoying' to other practitioners are the ones referred to us, psychiatrists.
These are just people like you and me. Labeled as 'annoying' because nobody had the time & empathy to talk to them.
11/n

A few patients dropped by.
Had a good chat with them over cups of piping hot tea.
If I had left, nobody would come in.
Nobody would have cared.
A few of those who needed help but had no courage to speak up would have continued to suffer in silence.
12/n

I used to fight against the stigma that prevails surrounding #mentalhealth.
Last year, I decided I would work towards "normalizing" talks about mental health. The journey has just started.
Thank you to all 11K souls who have supported me here.
13/13

.@ProfSomashekhar @drpraveenpsy @sureshbadamath @ompsychiatrist
@docbhooshan @mindwellnessdoc @DaktarBatra @IndianPsychiat1 @DrRebellious @HaryaxPathak @hard_dil @raval_atri @ImTheSkylord @pankti4299 @shreya__kataria @AlishaAkhani @NrajShah @nihardesai7 @omlakhani @DrBinoyVShah