Dr. Jasleen Kaur Bhalla's Blog

  APRIL IS OBSERVED AS IBS AWARENESS MONTH IBS i.e. Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a common, chronic, recurrent, medically underdiagnosed illness linked to your gastro-intestinal system.  Symptoms include long standing and fluctuating tummy pain / cramps, bloating, burning / gas (dyspepsia) / excessive wind (flatulence) / excessive burping (aerophagia) and diarrhoea or constipation, or both. It can affect all ages (adolescent to elderly) /  gender (women > men).  THEME :  This IBS Awareness Month theme is Destigmatizing the Different types of IBS that include: IBS with constipation (IBS-C) :   atypical stools that are hard and lumpy or not loose and watery at least a quarter of the time. IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D) :   atypical stools that are loose, watery, and not hard or lumpy at least a quarter of the time. IBS with mixed bowel habits (IBS-M) :  atypical stools that are watery and loose about a quarter of the time, and they are hard and lumpy another quarter of the time. Post-infect

             SELF INJURY AWARENESS DAY  HAVE YOU COME ACROSS ANYONE WHO HAS UNEXPLAINED CUTS/ BURNS/ BRUISES ? OR SOMEONE WHO IS PERSISTENTLY UNABLE TO HANDLE EMOTIONS?   NON SUICIDAL SELF INJURY (NSSI) IS A COMPARATIVELY NEW WOR D ADDED IN THE VOCABULARY OF MENTAL HEALT H ISSUES. IT IS A VERY MUCH UNDERRATED AND IGNORED SIGN OF MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.  Self-injury occurs in many forms- cutting, scratching, punching and ingestion of chemicals; and occurs for many reasons- coping with fear, stress, anxiety, or inducing positive feelings.  People who self-injure may try to hide their injuries. Their clothing may not fit the season. They w ould be seen wearing loose long clothes to hide the marks. Another commonly seen behaviour is getting excessive tattoos to conceal the scar marks. Age is no bar in NSSI. it is seen in as young as 6 years old to as old as even 70 years old.  De-busting some myths about NSSI : It’s not an accident :  Self-harm is intentional, purposeful behavior. I

MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN AMIDST COVID PANDEMIC  COVID has brought an array of mental health challenges for everyone, including children. Grief, fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, uncertainty, social isolation, increased screen time and parental fatigue have negatively affected the mental health of children due to disruption of routine, friendships and family support.  Mild signs of anxiety, such as difficulty in sleeping or concentrating have become common.  WARNING SIGNS TO LOOK OUT FOR......... In children <5 years : thumb sucking, bedwetting, clinging to parents, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite, regression in behaviour or withdrawal from interactions. In children between 5 to 10 years : irritability, aggressiveness, clinginess, nightmares, school avoidance, poor concentration and withdrawal from activities and friends. In adolescents between 10 to 19 years : hyperactivity or fidgeting, sleeping, and eating disturbances, agitation, increased conflicts, physical complaints, delinq

FROM MONDAY BLUES TO MONSLAY W e all experience Monday blues 👾 ( feeling extreme stress/anxiety or  sadness on the first day of the week)  at some point or other in our lives. It can make us lack the passion and motivation to go to work on on a Monday morning . It can signal BURNOUT in some people too.  WHY DO YOU HAVE MONDAY BLUES ? 1. You are not satisfied with the kind of job that you are doing. 2. You are not happy with your work colleagues or work environment. 3. You feel that your life is very mundane. There is no pleasure in your day-to-day tasks and everything seems very mechanical. 😟 4. Your job is interfering in other pleasurable activities that you could engage in earlier, before joining the job you're currently in.  5. You are unable to give time to your relationship because of your work commitments. 6. You are suffering from a mental health issue. 💭 WAY TO MONSLAY.......🎢 1. Identify the  underlying cause (your own inability to fulfil targets or a poor relationshi

SELF LOVE Let's choose ourselves first in a world where we cross oceans for people who would not even jump a puddle for us. So, prioritise yourself before we  become available to the world out there. It means: Talking to and about yourself with love Giving yourself a break from self doubts and self-judgement Trusting yourself Being true to yourself Being nice to yourself Setting healthy boundaries for yourself  Forgiving yourself  Self Care basics: Listen to your body Take breaks from work and move / stretch. Put the phone down and connect to yourself or others, or do something creative. Eating healthy, but sometimes indulge in your favourite foods. Self-love means ACCEPTING YOURSELF AS YOU ARE in this very moment for everything that you are. It means accepting your emotions for what they are and putting your  PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING   first. How to cultivate self-love? Become  mindful . Know what you think, feel and want. Be mindful of who you are  rather than on

CONCEPT OF 'MIND'FUL EATING Today’s fast-paced society tempts people with an abundance of food choices and moreover, distractions have shifted our attention away from the actual act of eating toward Netflix, youtube, TVs, computers and smartphones. Eating has become a mindless act, often done quickly. This is problematic, since it takes your brain up to 20 minutes to realise you’re full. This results in abnormal eating behaviours. If you eat too fast, the fullness signal may not arrive until you have already eaten too much (binge eating). By eating mindfully, you restore your attention and slow down, making eating an intentional act instead of an automatic one.Mindful eating is based on mindfulness, a Buddhist concept i.e. a form of meditation that helps you recognize and cope with your emotions and physical sensations.  Mindful eating involves: eating slowly and without distractions paying attention to food without judgement listening to physical hunger cues and eating only un