The PsyCreative Column

Beneath the Surface:  Karan's Battle with Addiction in Made in  Heaven (Season 2) In a world where dealing with drug abuse is a reality for many, Made in Heaven Season 2 gives us a glimpse into the world of addiction and its potential consequences. As we follow Karan's tumultuous journey, the show serves as a reminder that drug overdose doesn't discriminate based on background or status. It's like a wake-up call to have a broader conversation about addiction, recognize its signs, and create a supportive environment for those struggling. While we get engrossed in Karan's story, it's important to remember that these issues aren't just on the screen; they're part of our lives, too. So, let's take the conversations beyond our binge-watching sessions and spread awareness, compassion, and knowledge about drug overdose. Karan's Descent into Darkness At the start of Season 2, Karan is still his charming self, but his personal troubles start to ...

Humans are social creatures, carrying out most of their life activities with interdependence. From an evolutionary perspective, we come to know that this interdependence is for various reasons, the primary being survival, then other reasons like pleasure and improving quality of life. Isolation, in general, is the experience of being separated from others but when individuals lack social contact, support and relationships, this experience is termed as social isolation. When children-especially through their early and middle childhood- experience social isolation, it puts them at risk of unhealthy brain development as well as certain disorders. This hindrance in their bio-psycho-social development may also manifest in their adulthood, resulting in a dysfunctional lifestyle.  The impact on physiology:  Social isolation has a major impact on the prefrontal cortex, an area in our brain equipped to perform cognitive tasks: perception, social interactions, reasoning and decision-mak...

  Introduction: In the pursuit of justice and societal harmony in the cacophonic world of today, a critical question emerges: What could be the most effective method for rehabilitating offenders? While imprisonment has long been the conventional approach, community-based recovery programs and community service prove to be compelling alternatives. This blog will, through a psychological lens, delve into these approaches, impartially examining their advantages while acknowledging potential threats and drawbacks.  Surprisingly, community-based correction programs have been around for longer than imprisonment. The earliest such programs were used in England in about 1700, in which judges offered small-scale offenders ‘judicial reprieve’. This meant that the criminal would be convicted of the crime, but at the same time, would be given free citizenship with community service. However, it wasn’t until the late 18th century that the concept of incarceration emerged, with the first pr...

We, humans, have had a strong sense of connection to our communities ever since our race began to exist. As living and social beings, it is hard and often impossible for us to survive without one another and most importantly our communities. But what goes without saying is that one of the main problems arising when humans are in question is that of stress. Stress in psychology is stated as the social, physical, psychological, and emotional reaction of individuals and communities, caused as a result of experiencing an imbalance between individuals’ private and collective resources and the obligations placed upon them by their social or physical environment; it is something that is persistent throughout most of a person’s life and is often associated with their surroundings, interaction with other people, and the environment in which they change and grow in. In the context of community psychology, stress expands from more than just a personal level to a wider community or societal level....

  When we consider  the term 'minority' the community that comes to our minds is that of the LGBTQIA+. This particular set of letters stands for something much more significant; something which isn't new to us. So just to refresh all of our memories, this evolving abbreviation stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual and is a representation of the sexuality and gender identity spectrum. The fight for acceptance and equal rights by the LGBTQ+ community has advanced significantly when compared to the older times. Our history gives us all a detailed, yet unimaginable and an unjustifiable account of the oppression, stigma and discrimination the community has faced in itself for decades. Although we have come a long way, there still is much work to be done; moreover,  understanding community dynamics through the lens of community psychology opens our eyes to new possibilities and fresher perspectives.  People of the LGBTQ+ commu...