Anna Chandy, a therapist and an author, talks to Team Viva about her book and the importance of outbursts
Psycho-therapist Anna Chandy may have answers for you in her book BattlesIn The Mind but she had her own to wage before she could become counsellor for others, help actress Deepika Padukone and go on to head the star’s live, love, laugh foundation. She describes her childhood as one without an ambition, though she was always a good listener.
“I decided to become a counsellor only after I got married. It was when my husband’s brother was suffering from schizophrenia and I had to learn how to help him that I realised this is exactly what I want to do. Twenty years down the line, there has not been a single day when I have regretted taking up this profession,” Chandy shares.
Talking about her book that has both personal and technical touches regarding mental health, she tells us, “The book is in two parts.
The first part is about my own personal journey and the struggles I have been through to establish an easy connect and relatability. In the second part I have talked about how to work through these struggles and the essentials tools to fight mental illness. I have also incorporated ways to free yourself of emotional baggage and use my positive responses that I have nurtured all through my life.”
Being a therapist and a counsellor herself, she is well - acquainted with the theoretical concepts of transaction analysis very well. She feels that this knowledge has helped her understand herself better and been a boon when she started writing her book. “Also, one ofthe advantages of knowing the concept is that you can experience an abnormality when it’s happening to you. Especially, when you catch yourself repetitively working on a single thing that you are not really supposed to.
You automatically are called on to it and it becomes a pattern. Working on transaction analysis helps lay a map of understanding your inner psychological world.
It tells you what you need to do and what you should refrain yourself from,” she shares.
Talking about the rampant outburst of people suffering from mental illness, Chandy feels that the society needs to stop judging the people who are suffering from depression and give them an environment to open up themselves. She asserts, “One of the things that youngsters should always remember is that it’s okay to share one’s feelings, especially when you are vulnerable. They should realise that there is no shame or any stigma attached when we talk about mental health or any illness that is associated with the mind. Only then will they be able to get professional help.”
She strives to create an
environment where people suffering from mental illnesses are treated equally. “I am 54 years old and I have been thinking what kind of legacy I want to leave behind in my
professional space. I really want to create a space for mental health professionals to practise ethically and I aspire to build an India where mental health can be an issue which can be discussed on a regular basis and not something to be ashamed of.”
Reminiscing her days when she was being trained under Dr Brian Weiss and louise Hay, she shares, “I was deeply affected
by Hay’s philosophy of how physical illnesses are associated with our minds. Today, I do a lot of work with my clients and concentrate on what really troubles them. I met Dr Brian in 2007 and he was really
fascinated with the role spirituality plays in India. He asked me why I did not use spirituality as a tool to help people out of depression.
It was only after that I started looking at the larger universal purpose, where there is always something to unfold.”