BHUBANESWAR: Spiritual therapy is the cornerstone of treatment for mental illness as it makes one conversant with the purpose of life and realise what is happiness and what is success, said motivational speaker and author Aparna Piramal Raje on the concluding day of Odisha Literary Festival.In conversation with festival coordinator Kaveree Bamzai on ‘How to be happy: My Experiments with Darkness’, the former CEO said, spiritual therapy is about being happy for no reasons.
“Medical therapy will help you deal with symptoms. Talk therapy will help you understand the trigger. But spiritual therapy will make you realise why your gun is loaded. Your gun should not be loaded in the first place,” she said.
A mother of two and an Oxford graduate, Raje was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the peak of her career. Dealing with mental health issue was no cakewalk for her. After successfully overcoming the mental condition, she advocates that anyone with a mental health condition can still lead a balanced life.
“Medication for mental health depends on the condition. But people should not hesitate to go to a psychiatrist or a therapist. They do not need to wait for a crisis to happen to seek medical intervention,” she maintained.
Mental health, Raje said, is a team sport and it is not like Covid that one should get isolated for some days. “It requires the help of the whole team that includes your family and friends. Failure does not mean someone has failed. It is actually a prototype, a work in progress,” she explained.
Underlining the reasons behind rising depression and stress, the author said, people compare with others only to end up unhappy. “It is difficult to be living while constantly judging ourselves. Self love is the best antidote for mental wellness,” the author of ‘Chemical Khichdi’ said.