Don't just give me pills!

There is a lot of awareness these days on therapy; art forms that aid the fight against depression, storytelling sessions to soothe the nerves and Astro-counselling that guides young people from stress to peace!

In Tamil Nadu alone, the past few weeks have seen a burgeoning number of mental health and healing spaces that offer panaceas to the stressed mind. There are also lifestyle coaches and designers who are now specialising in healing and grounding sessions in their backyards.

Upasana Uma runs a backyard Chaat and chat session while Pooja Srinivasaraja’s latest Love Hope company caters to the increasing demand from young people for such methods over medicine.

Mandira Bansal, a fashion designer who relies heavily on energy and aura cleansing, says, “There is a force out there that is a superpower. Relying on medicine has its side effects. So when I’m down, at the crossroads or something is bothering me, I opt to meet an aura cleanser. Burning sage and cinnamon too can unclog your senses.”

The focus of the present generation of youngsters is not just on symptomatic relief, but on holistic health. They realise that wellbeing is a force that radiates out from within at one level, and on another, strength needs to be drawn from an external super-source to cope with the manifold stresses of modern life.   
Priyanka Aditya Baid, whose expertise lies in Tarot and aura cleansing, says she’s met many young people between the ages of 18-35 who refuse to see medical doctors for issues. “Sometimes I have to tell them to seek medical attention too. Some people come with gut health issues or severe stress related migraines. Or even depression from a broken marriage. They detest medicines but don’t mind spending lakhs on a healer or counsellor. They find this softer, more inner-reaching approach to be healing and long-lasting.”

While the Vedic charts may predict your destiny based on planetary alignment at time of birth, young people today want Astro-counselling, says Bharathi Sridhar, a popular television host and Astrologer. “It’s not that youngsters want to know deep and meaningful predictions of 10 years from now or how their planets are aligned for marriage. They want to know if today’s business meeting will go their way. Or what colour to wear for the next day’s company audit.”

Conventional medicine has also become very commercial, many feel. Further, doctors are able to spend very little time with people, given the humungous volume of patients they have to care for at any given point. The concept of the ‘family doctor’ who had the patience and the time to listen to the niggling problems of life, not just of health, and put one on the right track, has been lost.
Pooja Srinivasaraja of Love Hope Company, a modern mental health space, says, “Hospitals and doctors who prescribe medicines miss out on the real connect. Sometimes people, especially youth, are looking for role models, mentors and someone who understands them. Medicine combined with therapy is the way. Even for illnesses that need intensive Allopathic treatment, having a counsellor work on trauma care and confidence levels is a must.”