The PsyCreative Column

  - by  Aparna Daga,  Faiza Belal (MSc. Applied Psychology, FY) -Image by Faiza Belal (MSc. Applied Psychology, FY) Why Does 'Just One More Episode' Often Win Over Sleep? In the contemporary world, it often comes off that our frenzied to-do lists or late-night television marathons inevitably triumph over sleep. However, sacrificing that sleep for one more episode has consequences, especially for our emotional well-being. Sleep is a critical process for the mind to recover and reset; it is not a break for the body alone. Sleep is required to maintain psychological equilibrium, enhance mental activity, and ensure overall well-being from emotional and psychological points of view. According to Harvard Health, sleep deprivation amplifies distressing feelings and further complicates the control over one's stress levels. This could lead to depression or anxiety. Think about sleep as a weekly refresher for your brain. The mind stores memories and goes over the happenings of the da

“Virtual Reality in Therapy” sounds like a bizarre match, doesn’t it? Well as astonishing and new as it sounds, it is surprisingly equally effective in mental health aid. Virtual reality (VR) allows you to experience a life-like existence in a computer-generated environment. The digital environment setting is expressed through a head-mounted display. By setting up a realistic VR environment through this headset, clinicians help patients experience situations that will further help in the diagnosis and treatment of the respective disorder. Virtual Reality Therapy for Treatment of PTSD and Phobia: Let’s begin this topic with a statement of pure experience given by one of the clinical psychologists testing VR effects in therapy: “One thing I have learnt from VR, is that it is straightforward to fool the brain." Is it, really? Well, the use of VR in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) justifies this statement, as it has had a great impact on treatment and the pos

                                                            Self-Diagnosing ADHD and ASD: A Problem?  - by Komal Jain (MSc. Applied Psychology, Sem I)           “OMG, I think I have ADHD!” or “I’m sooo autistic!” These are phrases we increasingly hear from teenagers and young adults today.Is this trend helpful or harmful? Social Media’s Influence is getting a bit extreme, no?      Instagram, YouTube and even LinkedIn is flooded with mental health content, often providing what are ‘simplified’ symptoms of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). Surely now, we are working to increase awareness, recognise symptoms early on to promote getting a professional’s opinion, and so on. but self-diagnosing via Google has been prevalent for years. Let’s take an example. You have a cough, fever, your chest is hurting and you’re feeling nauseous - you look these symptoms up on the internet and (back in the 2010s) - BOOM! You have cancer. Today, you look up

                         The Bloom and Fall of the Pink Petal                                                                        - by Feoni Mehta (MSc. Applied Psychology, Sem III)      Image by Anushka Gope (MSc. Applied Psychology, Sem I)       The garden of life amidst the radiant hues of living, lies a sweet flower of singular beauty - the rose, which symbolises resilience, coping and grace. Even the mightiest petals are not immune to the breeze of change. As we walk through October’s soft embrace, we observe the fragile petals of this flower, once untouched, now scarred by a silent storm of pain which trembles its core - Breast Cancer.       It all starts with murmur, a faint wind that is silently moving around the garden, unnoticed. Slowly a small lump, a gradual change, a fluctuation in the tranquillity of the body’s garden emerges.       When this storm arrives, it does not come with a roar but a gathering of dark and dull clouds of pain. Breast cancer, like the shifting sk