AHMEDABAD: For Pragnesh (name changed), 26, currently an expert repairman at an automobile shop, behavioural tics surface sometimes — periods of confusion, dilemma, or impulsivity also take over, but are temporary.“It started when he was five years old. After a high-grade fever, he suffered an epileptic seizure and eventually went into coma. He was treated at the VS Hospital at that time by a team of doctors. Episodes recurred for seven months and the hospital became our second home,” recounts his mother. “Eventually he did recover and came home. His studies were affected but what mattered to us was his health.”
Mental health survivors share journeys of hope and recovery
Pragnesh enrolled at BM Institute of Mental Health for post-recovery follow-ups and treatment. Experts at the institute say his was a long road to recovery. “Due to neural damage, he faced mental health issues. But with treatment and medication, he could be integrated back to society,” said an official.Dr Rajul Mallik, director of BM Institute of Mental Health, said this year’s theme for World Mental Health Day, celebrated annually on October 10, is ‘Lived experiences heard: Real voices, real change’.“The takeaway message for the day is valuing the lived experience of persons with mental health issues — we have a large number of earlier patients who are engaged with current patients, for handholding and to share their own path to recovery. The theme also calls for recognizing these efforts for community-based care and reducing social stigma,” she said.Another example from the institute is in the form of Jay (name changed), 25. Her mother said he was brought in with complaints of psychotic and manic disorders. “He would get into an extreme fit of rage — he would strike family members including me, he threw the television set from our home, and broke furniture. He would literally go on a rampage and we could do nothing. A decade on, he is much calmer and can control his emotions,” she says. “He now also goes to his father’s office helps with work there.”Kenny (name changed), in his early sixties, is a familiar figure in the wards of the Govt Hospital for Mental Health. “I had long history of substance abuse and fled from home frequently. Often my family would go from one police station to another in different cities in search of me. Today, I talk about my journey as a cautionary tale to young patients who are brought in with a history of substance abuse, and tell them to hang in there — it is easy to give up, but it is a long journey, which one must often undertake alone,” he says.
