Interpreting another malady

Around 15 years ago,Hiranmay Saha,a psychiatrist by profession,launched a campaign to spread awareness about mental depression and he continues to do so through books and workshops

He might not be the interpreter of maladies. But Dr Hiranmay Saha is one such doctor who tries to create awareness about the maladies. A psychiatrist by profession,Saha does that little bit of extra by not just treating patients but also carrying out awareness drives about depression.

Sounds uninteresting at the first go. But considering the fact that Dr Saha could have tucked away his annual income in his coffer and lived a luxurious and lavish life,he deserves a bow for helping others. For the last three decades,Saha has been a leading psychiatrist with vast experience of treating patients. But he did not limit himself to treating his patients only. Around 15 years ago,Saha launched a campaign to spread information and awareness on depression.

In Dr Sahas words,depression is going to be the worlds most dangerous and the worst disease in ten years.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Mental Health Foundation have declared 2013 as the year of Depression: A global crisis. But I feel good when I see that I have been working on the same issue for more than a decade now.

Dr Saha,a resident of Salt Lake in Kolkata,has spent all his leisure time on giving his awareness campaign the final shape.

In the last 15 years,I,with my team of doctors and consultants,have visited 30 countries to take the awareness campaign beyond borders, he said.

He publishes booklets on depression and distribute them in public gatherings like rallies,meetings and other programmes.

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I have several people in my team who work voluntarily. I have drafted the booklet. But they took all responsibilities to publish it and distribute it. In the last ten years,we have published more than 20 lakhs booklets and distributed them. We also organise sessions on depression in several corporate offices free of cost. The booklets are also distributed free of cost, Dr Saha informed.

Author of several books on depression,he has been with the Indian Council of Medical Research and worked on mental morbidity. At present,the 53-year-old psychiatrist relentlessly tries to make the world a better place by enlightening people on depression. These days I can assure you that there is a patient suffering from depression in every household. But the disease has never been diagnosed. It is one of the three dreaded diseases in the world with cardiac ailments topping the chart. But it will not take much time,when depression will come on top of the list.

Unfortunately,most people who suffer from depression are not even aware of the problem. Many of them will struggle to explain why are they feeling lost or awkward. Without any,they go deeper in the mire and can even attempt suicide. It means that the key to preventing depression lies in raising awareness for the disease. If people are unaware that they are depressed,they are unable to overcome it, Dr Saha signed off.

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