Drive Slow !

My old car was having some overheating issues. I was advised to drive the car slowly till that time that the problem is rectified. Hence my speed dropped down to an average of around 50 km/hr. The drop in speed meant that I was moving much slower than most vehicles on road. With lane system non-existent in India, that also meant that cars, trucks, buses overtaking me from right, from left every now and then.

Frankly driving slow changed my perception in a way. Although I applaud myself for my driving skills and can really negotiate fast and tough, but for the first time really I was enjoying my drive and there was a smile on my face.

I put the air conditioner off, rolled down the windows and the cool morning breeze, music playing on the car stereo everything seemed so lovely. I was no more rushing as I usually did. The cars running past me appeared to be in a 'race' and I was no more in that. While I was never losing sight of the destination, the journey seemed equally enjoyable. Driving slow was almost therapeutic, both for me and for my car.

What was even wonderful was that I was reaching my university in the usual time. There was no delay.  Surprise! I thought I will be late, but I wasn’t.

Life mirrors roads and most of us seem to be on the fast lane, rushing, racing, at times even cutting lanes, jumping signals in a mad rush to reach our destination.  In the midst of all this we forget to enjoy the ‘journey’ - pick some ‘cool breeze’ on the way, enjoy the ‘sun rise’ and the ‘sun set’, the ‘clouds’, ‘rains’ and catch an innocent smile of a child, hum a ‘song’... the journey can be so enchanting.

But then we seem consumed with destination. More of everything and more of more…destination seems like a shifting target. In the end it is like a mirage, and we like the desert’s lost travelers.  We just never get there because we never targeted a goal; we just wanted more and more.

As a result our body ends up like my car – over heated, over stressed and on the brink of a breakdown. Only like for my car, no one is there to warn us to slow down a bit in our life. Hence we keep revving our muscles, nerves and bones till they ‘wear out’ and ‘breakdown’.

For a moment, stop and think… and in case you see what I do then atleast for sometime... Drive Slow !

(Also suggest reading 'Stress kills: Father remembers son, a Goldman Sachs analyst, who died at 22' @ http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/stress-kills-father-remembers-son-a-goldman-sachs-analyst-who-died-at-22/article1-1354791.aspx )

Success ≠ Happiness (always)

> In a barbaric incident, a man was beaten to death in frontof his kids in a case heinous case of road rage in New Delhi. 

> Few days back amentally ill pilot of German Wings took down with him more than 150 unsuspecting passengers to dust and doom. The pilot had been diagnosed for having suicidal intentions earlier. Innocent lives were devastated by one man’s act of madness. 

> Couple of days back two pilots of Air India fought inside the cockpit during a flight. The co-pilot reportedly thrashed the pilot upon given certain instructions for work by the latter. For engaging in uncivil behaviour and for endangering the lives of hundreds of passengers on board, both pilots were derostered and inquiry is pending. 

Could they just be dismissed as separate stray indents of violence? A closer look reveals that all these incidents have one thing in common - People who engaged in extremely violent behaviour did so with little or no immediate provocation. Short fuse blowing up in a 'sudden death' is becoming common these days. Could this short fuse and sudden random violent behaviour be related to the worsening mental health of people?

The mental health statistics in India is worrisome and shows that a large percentage of people suffer from mental disorders. That should not be automatically equated with lunacy, but recognized like any other disease and treated. Unfortunately our social norms and perceptions are a barrier to the same. A World Health Organisation (WHO) report on suicides (2000-2012) puts India right on top of the list in Southeast Asia. In India 10.9 persons every lakh committ suicide; suicides being the second leading cause of death among people in the age group of 18-29 years. 

The rising levels of anxiety, stress, and depression is unwanted perk that comes with modern day living in an uncertain but busy world and uncertain but turbulent times. Most of the jobs these days are high stress ones, leaving very little to chance or margin for error. Jobs, organizations, institutions may disappear suddenly because of economic calamity or terror attacks. Modern day living also comes with zero personal space, very little privacy and high peer pressure on social media. 

Most of people live their life on EMIs. Loss of jobs suddenly means crashing of income and inability to pay EMI. That may mean doom for many. Health Stress is also at an all-time high. Number of young people with cardiac problems or high blood pressure has increased drastically. Audrey Tsui calls this ‘Cost of Rising Prosperity’.

Stress, anxiety and depression problems are not only in adults but also amongst kids. They face intense competition. A ‘Winner takes it all’ kind of culture has been created for them, mostly by parents and teachers who themselves faced with fast-paced competitive world think that their kids need to outperform every time. That creates undue high expectations from the kids, who many times crumble under pressure. The rising number of teen suicides is an ample testimony to the kind of pressures they are subjected to.

The vicious cycle of Anxiety, Stress and Depression is a silent killer till it all explodes one day. Worst, people either do not realize that they suffer from anxiety or stress or they fear to come out in the open for fear of social stigma. 

When Deepika Padukone, a famous Bollywood celebrity, openly talked about facing depression herself, the frailties of the modern world was exposed. Success always does not mean happiness as well. Deepika after all is one of the most successful stars. But kudos to her for coming out in the open and sharing with the world. That should motivate few more to do the same and seek solutions to their mental problems.

Stress and depression is like a silent bomb ticking away, waiting to explode. And when it does, it does so with devastating effect.  Effective measures are important to deal with the same. The measures may be both preventive and curative. 

However first recognizing poor mental health as an urgent pressing problem, not only at a media or thinker-group level but also at institutional and societal levels, is important. That will ease the social norms and make it safe for people to come out in the open and seek remedies for their mental health issues. 

It is important to remember that all it may take many time to relieve stress/anxiety may be a listening ear, a compassionate heart and a healing touch. Do not forget to extend that to whoever you can.

For more read, You Can Beat Your Stress