Monthly Archives: July 2016

Change Your Frame…… Of Mind

Men get naughty (from being naughtier) at 40 & we women after our post glorious years of flowering & bearing fruits finally get to be… Nutty. After all that we have endured till mid lives – puberty, monthly curse, childbirth, PMS, peri menopause, please add ‘surviving’ if you are from India… when we are finally ready for that well deserved break, comes the gala(read gaga) event of all – Men O Pause (for their own good).

I am not yet menopausal, but know for sure that the hot flashes, sleeplessness, cravings, mood swings, memory loss, night sweats… though misleading, are nothing like falling in love. If anything, its our hormones falling out of love with our body & mind. One can say its like a rebirth, this time God is not the creator, unfortunately Devil fits the bill.

Although being ‘gaga’ has its pluses, like getting to be totally oneself & conveniently blaming it on mood swings… do practice caution, if ever the swing unhinges, it’s gonna be one nasty fall. You don’t have to be menopausal for it to unhinge… present day scenario can cause anxiety or depression even in an ever smiling Quokka*. Nobody is spared from its clutches – be it a child, teenager, middle aged or the elderly. Gone are the days when biological transitions were to blame, these days our ‘want more & then some’ lifestyle is enough to push our hormones to the edge or cause our chemicals to jump to death.

Ironically, in a country where folks throng hospitals with the dexterity of ninjas to get CT scans done to treat a common cold… mental illness is still a taboo & people suffering from it are still considered abnormal, weak kneed, social outcasts… & of course ‘possessed’. Not that we can expect anything better from a ‘secular’ nation where being gay is still a crime.

We should understand that mental instability does not sprout from a tree nor is it acquired by disgraceful acts. They can develop due to many biological or other factors and can be controlled & cured with medicines; in fact I cannot understand why it should be considered any different from other physical ailments. Thoughts come from the brain and that brain is very much an integral part of our body. The reasons for getting depressed or anxious can be the same as for any other disease. For example, indigestion can be caused by a change in weather, acid imbalance, stress, hormones, slow metabolism, genetics, wrong diet, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, etc… and so can these same reasons cause anxiety and depression too.

I absolutely believe in treating diseases the natural way, all pranayam & meditation, but not always. Imagine having a bad bout of loosies & trying to cure it thro’ – looking at the bright side or standing on your head. Mental illness too cannot be ‘cured’ by personal strength or sheer willpower alone. It needs proper treatment.

We women still get to use ‘body transitions’ as a shield against the stigma associated with mental illness. What about those young minds who are suffering silently… & when it becomes unbearable take the ‘forever silent’ route?? The highest rate of suicide in India is among the age group of fifteen to twenty nine. When are we going to help, communicate, teach, support… & love them unconditionally, with no strings attached?? When are we going to accept, treat & cure mental illnesses’ ??

All this talk is making me & I am sure you guys too, depressed. So let me try & get us into a better frame of mind, say by browsing thro’ these handcrafted frames, where happy memories can be stored forever.

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A naturally curved piece of driftwood frames this beautiful picture.

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Stuck together a few pieces of driftwood for this fab frame.

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Glued driftwood discs onto a wooden frame.

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Polished a slice of hollow wood for this unique frame.

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Used some some bark of an old tree to create this frame.

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Got hold of some vines to tie up this frame.

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Cut up some salvaged planks to nail this frame.

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Cut and crafted some bamboo for this super frame.

 

These frames might hold-

memories kind,

Of golden days old-

left far behind,

Family, friends and-

precious finds,

Elixir for a happy frame-

of mind.

 

*QUOKKA- a wildcat which seems to be smiling at all times.