A Week to Myself!

Monday, February 22nd, 2021 - Sunday, February 28th, 2021

My week in ISM was solely used for working on my Original Work as we had an asynchronous week. I found this to be very helpful as I was able to create a one-pager on how I could utilize social media in order to spread mental health awareness in India. I was also able to also do research on eating disorders, the last of the prominent mental illnesses that are in India. I found it very interesting how eating disorders are not independent and are typically caused by other mental illnesses such as depression. This has helped me understand that as a psychiatrist, I cannot establish a “tunnel vision” and treat mental illnesses for what they are. It will be imperative to look beyond that at what other effects they can have, especially one as dangerous as an eating disorder like Bulimia Nervosa.

Along with this, I was also able to do research, in accordance with my original work, on a topic that my mentor recommended to me. This also has to do with how mental illnesses can have effects outside of their common-place symptoms, as the topic was on how medical conditions can manifest into mental disorders. Suffering from chronic illnesses or other serious physical conditions can cause people to also develop depression, anxiety disorders, etc. I felt this was very important in my understanding of the work that psychiatrists do, as they also have to ensure patients that come into their clinic are not just suffering from a physical condition.