Objective: Seeing the fatality of the COVID-19 pandemic, stress response is quite expected in the general population and in psychiatric patients. Although studies regarding the same have been done on the general population, not many studies are available on patients having psychiatric illnesses. This study aimed to assess the stress response to COVID-19 and coping in patients with depression and anxiety and compare it with healthy controls. Methods: About 41 patients suffering from anxiety and depression and 41 age and gender-matched healthy controls aged 18 to 60 years were included in the study. HAM-D was used to rate depression and HAM-A for anxiety. COVID stress scale and fear of COVID-19 scale were used to assess COVID stress. Cope inventory CARVER (Hindi translated version) was used to see how people responded to COVID stress. Results: Fear of COVID-19 and COVID stress scale scores were significantly higher in the anxiety group than in the control group. Also, adaptive coping, including the use of instrumental social support, positive reinterpretation and growth, restraint, suppression of competing activities, active coping, acceptance, planning, use of emotional and social support, and humor, was used more by healthy controls. Patients suffering from depression used significantly more denial than the other two groups. Those suffering from anxiety used more focus on venting emotion and behavioral disengagement than the other two groups. Conclusion: COVID stress was more common among those suffering from anxiety. Adaptive coping was used more by the healthy control group.

Introduction: The prescription is our single most important communication. It reflects our personality, ability to communicate, sensitivity, and knowledge. Unfortunately, most psychiatric training programs do not pay much emphasis on it. There are a few studies on the appropriate use of drugs, proper use of guidelines as well on prescription errors. Aims and objects: This paper discusses the strengths and deficiencies of individual prescriptions by trained psychiatrists on the following parameters. Is the drug use rational? Is the prescription economical? Has the prescription been individualized? Should fixed drug combinations used? Does the prescription reflect the psychosocial needs of the patient? Material and methods: This subjective study is based on the author’s experience of practicing psychiatry for over 50 years. Many patients in psychiatry shift from one clinician to another as the illnesses are usually chronic and relapsing. Observations: Treat the individual with the disease-the focus of treatment is often on the disease and not the patient. We plan to treat schizophrenia or depression and lose sight of each patient’s specific need. Each patient suffering from an illness receives a similar prescription. The prescription must be individualized. Does the patient need an injectable medicine or an orally administrable medicine? The quality of life-treatment goals should be clear. Often, the goal is to treat the illness and reduce the chances of recurrence. We often do not consider the effect of the medicines on the patient’s quality of life. Sometimes we may have to reduce medicines or use medicines that help patients’ quality of life despite having symptoms. A hallucinating patient who is working is a better choice than a non-hallucinating, dull person living at home and doing nothing. Conclusion: This paper has highlighted some of the issues related to prescription writing in India. Unfortunately, there has not been any study that analyses prescription errors in this country. There seems to be an urgent need to start prescription audits in some form to improve practice in our country.

Introduction: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by a preoccupation with an imagined or slight defect. It is an underrecognized part yet relatively common and is considered a severe mental disorder that occurs globally. BDD is more common than is realized and causes significant distress and occupational impairment. Hence, it is important to understand the magnitude of occupational impairment in college students with BDD. Before identifying the occupational impairment in college-going students, we need to understand the prevalence of BDD amongst them. Aim: To measure the prevalence of BDD in undergraduate Medical and Allied Health college-going students. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional quantitative study design was used to conduct the study. Medical and Allied Health Students of Goa Medical College, Goa. Methods and Material: A convenient sampling method was used. A self-report, body image questionnaire was used, which has a sensitivity of 95.1% and a specificity of 71.6%. Statistical Analysis used: Data obtained and entered in a Google Excel sheet and analyzed in IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 24.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Out of the 378 students surveyed, 72.5% were female. Among the student population, 6.9% were found to have BDD. The male-to-female ratio among those with BDD was 1:5. Additionally, it was observed that approximately 61.5% of students who were under 21 years of age were likely to have BDD. Furthermore, it was noted that 45.8% of the total students surveyed experienced slight distress due to their physical features, while approximately 47.1% of students reported that they always avoided certain situations or activities because their features caused them distress. Additionally, 44.4% of the total student population expressed being slightly preoccupied with their physical features and thinking about them frequently. Moreover, approximately 25.1% of the overall student population stated that their features slightly affected their ability to work or study, indicating interference with their academic or professional pursuits. Conclusion: The data suggests that a significant portion of the surveyed population, particularly females, are susceptible to BDD. The disorder appears to affect a substantial percentage of students, with a higher prevalence among those under 21 years of age. Additionally, a considerable number of students report experiencing distress, avoidance behaviors, preoccupation with their physical features, and interference with their work or study due to these concerns. These findings highlight the importance of addressing mental health and body image issues among students and may warrant further investigation and support for those affected by BDD.

In recent years, the integration of digital technology into mental health care has become increasingly prevalent. However, digitalization serves as a dual-force catalyst in the domain of psychological sciences, presenting a spectrum of unparalleled opportunities and significant challenges. The technological growth required for providing mental health interventions transcending geographical and temporal constraints also contributes massively to the emergence of psychological phenomena that can detrimentally impact mental health. This overview explores the intricate relationship shared between digitalization and mental health, investigating the challenges posed by the digital landscape on psychological well-being while highlighting the potential of digital platforms to address mental health concerns and enhance overall well-being

Any unorthodox activity by an individual person is looked upon by society as a symbol of deranged activity until and unless the motive behind that breach is clear and acceptable to society. No country is immune from the allegation where undue advantage has been taken on many occasions to label political opponents as suffering from mental derangement and have been diagnosed, treated, confined, and may be sterilized or killed by government agencies for their political gain. Wikipedia even lists the Government of India for enlisting the help of a renowned institute in relation to some agitation by a community in the year 2012. We all are aware of such atrocities committed in various big countries, like Germany, the USA, China, Europe, Russia and many more.

Background: Psychosis, encompassing conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder with psychotic features, presents a perplexing landscape where language dysfunction emerges as a notable hallmark. Compared to classical psychotic symptoms (such as delusions and hallucinations), language disorganization can be directly observed, and it is not dependent upon subjective reports of abnormal experiences on part of the patient. Consequently, it has been regarded by researchers as a more objective and informative clinical marker of brain dysfunction in psychosis. There is a dearth of Indian studies in this domain and when compared to international studies, a strong need for revival of research has been felt. Aim: To evaluate language dysfunction among first-admission untreated patients of psychosis using the clinical language disorder rating scale (CLANG). Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, language dysfunction among 60 untreated psychotic patients who attended the psychiatry inpatient services of a tertiary care center from North India in the period from January 2022 to October 2023 were evaluated for the presence of language dysfunction using a valid tool called CLANG after taking approval from the Institutional Ethical Committee and with the informed consent of the patients and/or their caregivers. Data set for 60 patients regarding the sociodemographic-clinical profile and language dysfunction was obtained. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics as appropriate. Results: Diagnosis-wise, most of our patients belonged to schizophrenia (n = 26) (43.33%). Rest of them psychotic disorders like bipolar affective disorder with psychotic symptoms (15%) and schizoaffective disorder (11.67%) to name a few. The most commonly affected language domains in our patients were referential failures (65%), discourse failures (46.67%) and lack of semantic association (16.67%). Schizophrenics were differentiated from non-schizophrenic psychosis patients based on lack of semantic association (exclusively seen in schizophrenics). Referential failures and discourse failures were commonly noted in both schizophrenia and non-schizophrenic psychotic disorders. Poverty of speech was rather predominant in mood disorders with psychotic symptoms. Conclusion: The findings of our study put emphasis on the fact that language dysfunction is a core component of the phenomenon of psychosis and perhaps revalidates the neural basis of psychosis. The domain ‘lack of semantic association’ was typically present in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, while other language abnormalities like referential failures and abnormal prosody were generally present in patients of untreated psychosis.

Background: The psychiatric morbidity profile of children and adolescents is very different from that of adults. Failure of early identification and timely intervention of psychiatric disorders adversely affects the developmental trajectory of children to becoming a healthy adult. Objectives: To study the clinico-demographic profile of patients attending the child & adolescent psychiatric OPD and to estimate the frequency of various psychiatric disorders among them. Methodology: In this retrospective file review study, all patients attending the child and adolescent psychiatry clinic of a tertiary care hospital between Jan 2018- June 2022 were taken. Data collection was done using a semi-structured proforma and ICD-10 was used to make psychiatric diagnoses. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS 16 (Version 25.0). Results: The total number of cases visiting child psychiatry OPD during the study period was 1199 with an average of 240 cases per year. The mean age was found to be 12 years, with gender distribution revealing male preponderance (58.4%). Around 64% of the participants were 63.8%) were in the age range 10 to 15 years. Most subjects (59.4%) were Hindu by religion and hailed from urban areas (52.4%). Epilepsy (23.9%) was the most prevalent psychiatric disorder, followed by intellectual disability (16.8%), anxiety disorder (14.1%), hyperkinetic and conduct disorder (8.8%), and schizophrenia & other psychotic disorders (10.3%). Conclusion: This study is one of the few ones conducted in a tertiary care hospital in North India. Children in poor nations receive less mental health and psychiatric care than adults do. Our research indicates that Indian clinics may need to improve their offerings for conditions like depression, specific learning disorders, communication disorders, and hyperkinetic disorders. The study also emphasizes the need for more child psychologists special educators, and strengthened counseling services in schools

Introduction: Competency-based medical education (CBME) was introduced by the National Medical Commission in 2019. The system tries to incorporate the Attitude, Ethics, and Communication (AETCOM) module for the enhancement of empathy, cognition, and soft skill development in undergraduates (UGs). Longitudinal and comparative studies in this area show mixed findings regarding response to CBME. Therefore, this study aims to compare empathy in UGs before and after the introduction of a new curriculum and assess the predictors for the same. Methods: The empathy was assessed and compared cross-sectionally among 700 UGs, belonging to both old and new curricula, with the Toronto empathy questionnaire (TEQ). Results: A course of fluctuating levels was observed in empathy for UGs with advancement of MBBS years followed by a dip in the end. Females (47.52 ± 6.00) had more empathy scores than males (42.97 ± 7.55) with significance (p < 0.05). There was no comparable rise in empathy scores with the introduction of a new curriculum. Gender proved significant in predicting empathy with multiple linear regression (p < 0.05) in both CBME and non-CBME students. Conclusion: The nurture of empathy starts during early medical education. The students had a decrease in empathy scores at the end of medical training, with females having higher empathy levels. The new curriculum tries to inculcate empathic communication for better care but needs further evaluation on causal factors and data on longitudinal trends.

Mental illnesses among children and adolescents are on the rise and are becoming one of the prime causes of disability across the globe. Untreated or unaddressed mental health issues can extend to adulthood. They can have severe long-term physical, social and economic adverse effects, including low employment rate, lesser wages if employed, interpersonal difficulties and more legal and criminal contacts. However, the focus on preventative and promotive mental health measures has gotten rather less emphasis than the sickness side, including treatment and research on mental illnesses. Resilience and positive well-being are protective against developing mental illnesses and improving courses for those who have developed such issues. Resilience can be enhanced by adopting a healthy lifestyle, music, and other art forms as a recreational activity, limiting screen use and having good social support. Various school-based programs are being developed and tested, targeting positive mental well-being and resilience in children and adolescents. A few of them discussed in this review are life skill education, PAX good behavior games, source of strength, Zippy’s Friends, You Can Do It!, and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). The responsive advocacy for life and learning in youth (RALLY). Despite these, more investments should be directed towards the prevention of illness and promotion of mental well-being than mere treatment and rehabilitation a ARTICLE INFO fter an illness.

Vascular dementia presents a complex clinical picture when compounded by rare vascular events of such as thalamic stroke. This case report highlights the pivotal role of early psychiatric consultation and neuropsychological testing in the management of vascular dementia, particularly in the context of a thalamic stroke. A 81-year-old male presented with cognitive decline, depressive symptoms, and functional impairment following a vascular stroke. Prompt psychiatric evaluation and comprehensive neuropsychological assessment revealed concurrent vascular dementia and geriatric depression along with localization of vascular stroke. Early intervention with tailored pharmacotherapy targeting both cognitive and mood symptoms yielded significant improvement in cognitive function, mood, management of delirium and overall functional status. Moreover, the incorporation of psychiatric rehabilitation strategies facilitated enhanced recovery and long-term prognosis. This case underscores the critical importance of multidisciplinary collaboration involving psychiatrists, neurologists, and rehabilitation specialists in the holistic management of vascular dementia. Early identification of psychiatric symptoms through thorough evaluation and timely intervention not only improves short-term outcomes but also holds promise for mitigating long-term disability and optimizing the quality of life in patients with vascular dementia and associated thalamic stroke. Further research is warranted to delineate optimal treatment approaches and rehabilitation strategies in this vulnerable population