The Secret Diary of The Beautiful Mind

  The six questions every kidney cancer patient should feel able to ask their doctor! Studies show that doctors and patients making treatment decisions together leads to better outcomes and fewer side effects. 1. “What are my treatment options and what are their benefits and risks?” The treatments available to you will depend on your cancer type, its stage and your general health. Ask your doctors which treatment plan they think is best for you, if there are any costs and how many tests and check-ups you’ll need along the way. 2. “How will this treatment make me feel?” Slowing or curing your cancer is obviously vital, but so is your quality of life during treatment. Discuss what’s important to you – work, travel, fatigue, bowel function, sex life - and ask what you will and won’t be able to do during different treatments. 3.“How much experience do you have with this treatment?” If a surgeon recommends nephrectomy, it’s OK to ask how many he’s done. Similarly for other treatment options

Experiencing the loss of a pregnancy, infant, or child brings unimaginable pain and grief, and can make you feel alone and lost. Everyone grieves in his own way. Men and women often show grief in different ways. Even if you and your partner agree on lots of things, you may feel and show your grief differently. Different ways of dealing with grief may cause problems for you and your partner. For example, you may think your partner isn’t as upset about your baby’s death as you are. You may think he doesn’t care as much. This may make you angry. At the same time, your partner may feel that you’re too emotional. He may not want to hear about your feelings so often, and he may think you’ll never get over your grief. He also may feel left out of all the support you’re getting. Everyone may ask him how you’re doing but forget to ask how he’s doing. Showing grief doesn’t have any rules or instructions. Men and women often may show grief in these ways. But there’s really no right or wrong way f

  Postpartum or perinatal depression is a form of depression that occurs following the birth of a baby. It’s a relatively common but serious medical condition, affecting up to 1 in 7 new mothers after birth. Postpartum depression can make you feel empty, emotionless, and sad. It can cause changes in mood, exhaustion, and a general sense of hopelessness for a long time after birth. Postpartum depression can affect people of all gender and all types of parents and their partners, be they birth, surrogate, or adoptive. There’s no singular ‘normal’ way to be a parent. Feelings of postpartum and perinatal depression are always valid and are never your fault. Postpartum depression goes well beyond the fews days of 'baby blues', lasting for weeks after giving birth. Its symptoms can be severe and interfere with your ability to function. Symptoms of postpartum depression can vary from person to person and even from day to day. While symptoms can develop anytime after childbirth, they o

  Your emotions might not necessarily only revolve around excitement when you’re pregnant. So you’re not alone if you’re feeling strong moods and emotions. During pregnancy, a variety of hormones increase dramatically, peak during childbirth, and then crash back down to pre-pregnancy levels immediately after birth – estimated at a 1,000% change over the course of only five days. Since these hormones are linked to emotional states, someone who has just given birth typically experiences an emotional upheaval. Most people (about 80%) experience some degree of emotional upheaval after childbirth — ranging from mood swings and crying spells to a spike in anxiety and difficulty sleeping. You may feel overwhelmed at times, and at others, euphoric. Aside from emotional ups and downs caused by rising hormone levels in the first three months, the feeling of growing a new life can be exciting and awe-inspiring. It is also common for women to feel anxious, vulnerable and overwhelmed by the big cha

  In a recent survey, 77% of bipolar-I participants said living with the disorder made them feel isolated or alone, and 81% reported feeling like no one understands what they go through. This World Bipolar Day, connect and remind folks that they are not alone in what they’re going through. WBD is celebrated each year on March 30th, the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh, who was posthumously diagnosed as probably having a bipolar condition. How Can a Family Support their Loved One Living with Bipolar Disorder? Ask their loved one how they can be helpful. What is helpful for one person may not be for another. Check in with them on a regular basis, especially if they are struggling. Invite them for activities or a meal. Don’t get discouraged if they turn you down. Keep inviting. Sometimes the invite is enough for them to know you care, and that they are not alone. Offer to run errands, get food, fill their car with fuel, take their kids off their hands for a few hours. Be aware that people

  Raising kids alone is not easy. You have no one to support or share your dilemmas and concerns. However let this not overwhelm you. Some tips to empower you to do what you want to. 1. Don't feel Guilty - You may feel guilty for the things you cannot provide or the time you may spend with your kids. For your good, try to focus on all the things to accomplish for the day and also show the love, comfort and attention to your little ones. Seek help as needed. 2. Take care of yourself - Include physical activity in your daily routine, eat a healthy diet and get plenty of sleep. Arrange time to do activities you enjoy alone or with friends. Give yourself a "timeout" by arranging for child to be with relatives or family friends least a few hours a week. 3. Lean on others - Work out a schedule with other parents in school or classes. Call on loved ones, friends and neighbors for help. 4. Plan and handle finances - Taking care of the family on a single income or being dependent

  Indian parenting of 2010s The gap between the parents and the children shows up again, but with a twist this time. The gap isn’t from the parent’s side, it is from the side of the children. Although the parents have adapted themselves pretty well to the new technology, nevertheless, the kids have the advantage of being born into it. Now parents are the ones who are trying to find out what’s going on in the lives of their children. However, since their minds can’t take in huge amount of information, they find it impossible to catch up. The parents Just like the 90s and 2000s had the best of children, the 2010s have the best of parents. Now the parents no longer depend upon their traditional wisdom for parenting advice. They absorb whatever information they can get regarding the matter on both social media and the Internet. Thanks to the positive influence of inspirational movies, the parents are often above gender stereotypes. Far from hindering their child’s artistic abilities, they

If you have never heard the word Thalassemia before, it is good news. Those who have seen some of their near and dear ones go through the illness may even tell - you are lucky! The prevalence of Thalassemia in India is 4% - which translates to almost 5 crore individuals at risk of the illness, many of whom will require lifelong blood transfusions to just survive. Just imagine what the child and the parents must be going through dealing with the illness and its complications. The best way to deal with it is to have knowledge about the illness and its treatment and most importantly seek support from experts - haematologists and mental health workers to live a life that is fulfilling. Thalassemia is an inherited illness of the blood, the oxygen carrying capacity of blood decreases in it. It affects the child as oxygen is what we live on, the body compensates for this reduced efficiency of blood cells to carry oxygen by producing more blood cells - causing abnormality in face appearance