Shyamanta Das, the Editor-in-Chief of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®) wrote about the commentary, “Present day adolescents: why they are, the way they are” by Shailendra Kumar Talukdar and Rupa Gohain, and published in the current issue (January-June 2019, Volume 10 Issue 1) of OJPAS® in the fortnightly Mind Matters column, titled “Present-day adolescents” in Horizon, the Friday supplement with The Assam Tribune.
The Editorial, titled “Global psychiatry: a LAMIC perspective” by Shyamanta Das, Bornali Das, and Mythili Hazarika, published in the July-December 2017, Volume 8 Issue 2 of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®) is included in PubMed Central (PMCID: PMC6472944). It is the third article of OJPAS® to be in PubMed Central.
The Editor-in-Chief of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®), Shyamanta Das spoke on the myths, facts, and evidence-base of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics to the doctors of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS), and National Health Mission (NHM) officials at Hotel Imphal in Manipur.
Mythili Hazarika, the President of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) had a session on “Stress management” with the Mizoram civil service officers at Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati. There were nine officers who were trained in how to manage stress cognitively and with various strategies. They interacted on various mental health issues too and highly appreciated the demonstration of relaxation exercise.
Bornali Das’ commentary, “Power of saying “pause” to life”, published in the current issue (January-June 2019, Volume 10 Issue 1) of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®) is highlighted in the fortnightly Mind Matters column, titled “The power of pause” by Shyamanta Das, the Editor-in-Chief of OJPAS® in the Friday supplement of The Assam Tribune, Horizon.
More than 80% of the world population live in Low And Middle Income Countries (LAMIC). The greatest burden of mental disorders is borne by them. Yet, the representation of scientific literature depicting the plight of this population is conspicuous by its scarcity.
The Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) aims to promote behavioural science in LAMIC. The objective is to form a global consortium for research and exchange of clinical dialogues on psychiatry and allied health sciences with an attempt to bridge the LAMIC-non LAMIC gap.
SoMHiL strives to tap new ideas coming from young minds before being bogged down by conventional thinking and to understand mental illness from the cultural viewpoint to formulate preventive and therapeutic approaches. The Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®), edited by Shyamanta Das and published by Academy Publisher in collaboration with SoMHiL on behalf of Academia Dysphrenia is such an endeavour.
To enrich that endeavour, in association with Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), Guwahati, SoMHiL hosted a guest lecture by Professor Chittaranjan Yajnik, the Director, Diabetes Unit, KEM Hospital, Pune, India to illuminate on the DOHaD (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease) model of early life insults leading to later diabetes at Academic Hall, GMCH.
It was attended by the outgoing Principal-cum-Chief Superintendent of GMCH, Registrar of Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences (SSUHS), faculties and postgraduate trainees of various departments, and undergraduate students of GMCH along with nursing students. Also, the event was broadcast live through National Medical College Network (NMCN) across 50 medical colleges of India simultaneously.
Professor Yajnik is an eminent researcher in the medical field, best known for his path-breaking study to ‘characterise Indian diabetic patients’, leading to the concept of the ‘thin-fat insulin resistant Indian’. He is a stalwart in the field of epigenetics of diabetes unique to India.
The deed of trust, namely SoMHiL was declared on the 20th Day of September 2017 at Guwahati and registered in the Kamrup Metropolitan Deputy Commissioner’s Office, Assam, India with Mythili Hazarika as President, Bornali Das as Secretary, and Atanu Baruah as Convenor. Bornali Das delivered the introductory note and Mythili Hazarika offered the vote of thanks.
The guest lecture was followed by a Focused Group Discussion in the seminar room of the Principal-cum-Chief Superintendent, GMCH among endocrinologists, paediatricians, psychiatrists, and mental health professionals including psychologists and psychiatric social workers as well as community medicine specialist.
Bornali Das, the Secretary of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) facilitated the interactive session with the parents/teachers on the occasion of World Autism Awareness Day at Udayachal Rehabilitation & Training Centre for Multiple Disability, Guwahati.
