Harmony Psychiatry Clinic

The Art of Procrastination

Hi, I’m Dr. Neha, and today we are going to talk about the art of procrastination.

How often do we think to ourselves, you know, I’ll just do this tomorrow? I’ll wash the dishes later, I don’t feel like going to the gym, honey! I’m not going to do this right now. How many of us are believers in the same? Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow? And then when the deadline is near we groan and mourn and think how unfair it is that we have to do this, and we feel anxious and we feel sad, and end up doing a half-hearted job, and then we wonder why we never get the results we expected. This is procrastination – the act of postponing, avoiding or delaying something that needs to be done.

Maybe you are thinking it’s too hard, I’ll never get this done, it’s not going to be perfect so why bother? I don’t like doing this. I’m going to fail if I do it. Or maybe you’re a thrill seeker, and you think you work best under a deadline-induced panic. Any of these thoughts ring a bell? And how do they make you feel? Happy? Excited? I think it’s more like sad and anxious. And I’m sure they don’t actually motivate you to get these tasks done. So what do you do?

So here is an action plan. Write down one thing that you’re currently procrastinating. Write it down right now, while you’re watching the video. I think it will help. Write down the reasons why you cannot complete the task today. Written? Okay, so for example, I can’t go to the gym today because the time I usually go at has already passed, and it will be too crowded. Look at the reason. Is it a excuse, or is it a valid reason? You can of course go to the gym, of course it will be crowded and uncomfortable, but you can do it. So if it is an excuse, write down the excuse next to it. How many excuses do you have on that list? So what do you want to do now? I think you’ll find that if you actually do something, it’s not so bad at all. Practice this trick the next time you find yourself procrastinating, and with time, you will learn to get things done. And that’s the real art.

If you’d like to take an appointment with me, just visit Lybrate.com. Thank you.

Know more about myths and facts related to Suicidal Thoughts

Hi! I am Dr. Neha Shah, I am a consultant psychiatrist in Mumbai. 10th September was World Suicide prevention day and what better way to honor this day than to talk a little bit about the myths surrounding suicide.

The suicide rate in India is 21.1 per lakh population, that’s one of the highest in the world. But most of the time we are immune to it and it doesn’t affect us until we lose someone close to us and that’s when there is a ripple of tragedy that affects not only the person himself but also the people surrounding, his family, his friends and everyone who knows him.

So what are some of the suicide myths?

The first one, is people who talk about 'wanting to die' are just asking for attention and are not really going to kill themselves. But the fact is most of the people who attempt or commit suicide usually talk about it first. They are in pain and usually do seek help. So always take any talk about suicide seriously.

The second myth, people who attempt or commit suicide are weak, but the fact is that anyone can commit suicide. These are people who are in pain, who have lost hope and do not see any other way. Often they suffer from depression or other mental illnesses so they need the right help.

The 3rd myth is that suicide occurs without any warning sign and one cant tell when someone will attempt suicide but that’s not true, there are always warning signs. People who are suicidal often talk about wanting to die, they may express their plan to someone. They use languages like it will be better if I die nobody is going to miss me, life is not worth living, you'll be sorry when I am gone, I don’t have to go through these much longer. So beware of these little expressions that they may use. They may start giving their possessions away. They may start calling on people saying good bye. They may buy weapon. They may write a suicide note. So be alert to these signs.

The most common myth is one should never talk or ask anyone about suicide because this gives them idea and encourages suicidal behavior. This is absolutely not true. If you think a person is suicidal please ask them about it and ask them if they have a plan. Most of the time talking about it simply dissipates the suicidal urge. Remember asking them will let you know their intentions and getting them the help they need. So these are some of the myths that surrounds suicide. In keeping with the theme of world suicide day lets connect, communicate and care and spread a positive ripple of awareness.

Thank you. If you would like to get in touch with me please contact me through lybrate.com