THE CASE OF A JUNIOR MEDICAL DOCTOR WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE

While I was scrolling down and trying to keep abreast of the latest newsfeed on social media, I accidentally came across reading one intriguing article which literally piqued my interest and it sort of evoked my instant recollections of the two prominent musicians (Chris Cornell of Audioslave & Chester Bennington of Linkin Park) who had a prolonged history of struggling with chronic depression throughout their lives. It was about the ongoing case of a junior medical doctor who worked at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham (England) named "Dr. Vaishnavi Kumar" where she was reported to have committed suicide in June 2022 due to the severe effect of toxicity at her workplace, and her father has been relentlessly demanding an utter justice for her daughter’s untimely death since then.

To certain people out there, addressing the so-called "Mental Health Disorder" may still appear to be something taboo and inconvenient to be discussed openly, yet, many of us often times possess a tendency to underestimate or even dismiss the crucial impact of the role that mental health plays in our lives, especially from the aspects of dealing with our day-to-day routines. Besides, one of the most contributing factors which tend to escalate such a high degree of employee turnover in any industries is associated with the amount of conduciveness inflicted by a work environment. In other words, the more toxic the cultivation of corporate culture manifested in an organization, the more frequent the replacement of hiring new recruits will take place in a matter of days.

To begin with, the aforementioned case of a young medical doctor’s sudden death and its aftermath was among a series of solemn issues subject to the six-week rapid review led by Professor Mike Bewick following a perpetual sequence of damning allegations which was aired on BBC Newsnight in June 2022. According to one particular source of information retrieved, it was stated that the female Indian doctor decided to take her own life after feeling "belittled" at her workplace, which was perceived as the type of bullying case for us to be concerned with since it could trigger a never-ending episode of mental health struggles to the point where the victim would end up committing suicide. In reference to the additional details of her impromptu demise, it was further revealed that when she felt overwhelmingly distressed by the unpleasant work ambiance at a hospital she worked, a lethal cocktail of medication was identified to be the primary cause which was something she consumed and eventually, a group of ambulance team failed to rescue her as she took her last breath at City Hospital on June 22^nd 2022.

Obviously, the above incident pertaining to a mental health problem could immediately prompt our eye brows to start questioning how such an impact of toxic workplace in the most extreme case can inflict a profound severity on a person’s mental health condition; resulting in an innocent soul to be in a dire state of suffering from suicidal thoughts. Nevertheless, following the audacity of decision to end her life in June 2022, the junior medical doctor was also found to have left pieces of final words on a note she wrote, in which she went saying that "she was sorry to her dearest beloved mother, and she could blame the whole thing on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham" (an exact location where her dead body was discovered following her drug prescriptions with an excessive amount of alcohol consumed as the ultimate consequence of her mental health struggle, which stemmed from the adverse effect of her workplace toxicity).

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GENERAL OVERVIEW OF OCD (CHAPTER 1)

EXAMPLE OF CASE STUDY 1: "Tom worried about being responsible for bad things that could happen. He worried about leaving the stove on which could cause a fire, or hitting someone with his car. He spent all day repeatedly checking every action he did just to ensure that he hadn‘t done something wrong or harmful. Besides, he would circle back in his car to check if he had hit someone and rechecked his locks over and over again at home to make him feel a sense of reassurance that the doors were locked. Eventually, he decided to avoid using his oven fearing that he might forget to turn it off".

EXAMPLE OF CASE STUDY 2: "Gigi had an obsession of causing harm to others through some unintentional act. She worried that she might end up hurting someone with her sloppy or offensive words and would cause the person (him or her) to feel solemnly upset. Or, she was anxious that she might have forgotten to put off a cigarette that would burn her entire house which could wipe out the whole of her neighbourhood. As a result, this had caused her to check things more than once before she left her house and most likely would return to her house again to make sure everything was fine".

Okay, you have seen those two different case studies illustrated. So, what do you think it is? I mean what exactly the kind of mental health issue that those two people had in common? In case if you have never heard of this mental disease so-called "OCD", this is something that those two individuals possessed in common. Yes, it is the type of intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviours which relentlessly loomed over their mind; causing them to feel an extreme degree of anxiety to redo the actions over and over.

To kick start with the above subject, "OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" is an anxiety disorder characterised by repeated unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviours (compulsions) which are difficult to control. As you probably notice, there are two key words contained in the sickness name – Obsessive and Compulsive. So, the key features lies within OCD are obsessions (being obsessive) and compulsions (being compulsive). Perhaps, most people can have both, yet, for some others, it may not be the case as in they probably have only one or the other.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common anxiety disorder where up to 750 000 people (12 out of every 1000) in the UK are impacted regardless of age, gender, or cultural background. What’s more, it is believed that up to 25% of cases remain undiagnosed by the age of 30. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe and debilitating mental illness which affects roughly around two per cent of population. As this mental illness does exist across the world and it even affects women at a slightly higher rate than men in adulthood, its symptoms normally begin in a gradual state and about a quarter of people with OCD start to develop the disorder in their early adolescence.

Furthermore, OCD is not a personality quirk or character trait. The fact that everyone has their own intrusive thoughts, some studies have shown that there is no difference between OCD suffers and other people in the types of random thoughts they possess, nor is there any difference in the frequency for which these random intrusions tend to occur in the first place. However, there is a fundamental difference in the way that OCD sufferers respond to their thinking and misinterpret their intrusions, and it is exactly this pattern of misunderstanding that inevitably leads to the thoughts of becoming stuck and very disturbing.

Obsessions are thoughts, images, or urges. They can feel intrusive, repetitive, and distressing while Compulsions on the other hand are "repetitive behaviours" which a person does to relieve the distress they feel because of the obsessions. When a person is preoccupied with these thoughts and is unable to control the thoughts, get rid of them or even ignore them, they may be regarded as obsessions. For the record, obsessions are usually unrealistic and do not make any sense. As they often do not fit with one’s personality, they can be unacceptable or can be felt disgusted to the person who has them.

Last but not least, obsessions in general cause distress, and they are usually in the form of anxiety. People with obsessive thoughts, in some cases, will often try to reduce the amount of their distress by acting out certain behaviours, known as "rituals" or the so-called compulsions. While most people have preferred ways of doing certain things (e.g. a morning coffee routine, arranging items on a desk), people with OCD feel the sense of urgency that they "must" perform their compulsions (behaviours) and find it nearly impossible to cease. Sometimes, people with OCD are fully aware of the fact that their compulsion is senseless. However, he or she feels helpless to stop doing it and may need to repeat the compulsion over and over again which is why it is described as a ritual.

Some common examples of the so-called rituals (compulsions) include excessive washing and checking things, or counting, repeating certain words, praying, etc. While compulsions often help relieve distress in the short-term, however, they do not seem to be handful in the long- term. As a person with OCD gets used to doing the same thing over and over, the rituals become less helpful at reducing his or her anxiety. And, in order to make them more effective, the person may perform the rituals more frequently or even for a longer period of time. Hence, this is the reason why people with OCD can appear to be "stuck" doing the same thing excessively. In any case, those who struggle with OCD may find themselves feeling isolated and misunderstood as if they are trapped somewhere in a sand dune.

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IMPLANTING THE MENTAL TOUGHNESS OF A SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER

We humans are capable of doing extraordinary things. A large brain that is adept at manipulating its surroundings can be credited with many technological marvels in our world today. This powerful tool so-called human brain can and should be at our disposal when catastrophe threatens the livelihood of our well-being, notably during the survival conditions to exploit the power of our brain beyond limits. After all, the ability to use this power starts by having a proper survival mindset; the same mindset taught to Special Forces soldiers across the globe.

 

Often, we hear the news reports or stories of people stranded in the outdoors with no gear and minimum in any survival training, yet somehow, many of these people triumph all the odds and eventually survive. So, how is this possible? Well, these people possess a strong will power to survive and that mindset has been evident over time which appears to be more fruitful than any other single trait when survival is questioned. The military realizes this and tries to implant this very resilient mindset into the soldiers who are being trained.

WHY HAVING A PROPER MINDSET IS SO CRUCIAL?

According to studies, 95 percent of people who perish from psychological trauma are likely to die within the first three days. It is truly the mind over matter situation. Losing the ability to think clearly, for instance, will be more detrimental to our chances of survival than any number of other contributing factors. And based on the research studies, one survivor was reported to have eaten his own belt when no other food sources were available. There were others who have lost as much as 25 percent of their body mass due to dehydration, yet, they did not perish.

It is almost as common as the stories of well-prepared individuals who yield or give up when the situation becomes overwhelmingly difficult to cope up with which caused them to succumb to death. Even worse, some would rather take their own lives than fight for their own survival. It is no wonder at all if we look at the fact that all military survival guides begin with chapters about the survival mindset before detailing actual survival techniques. Nonetheless, the message conveyed is clear – “Mindset is The Key to Our Safety Well-Being”.

Next, the human brain will go through a series of processes and emotions during a survival circumstance. Understanding these basic stages of thoughts in advance is actually the first step to achieving the appropriate mindset. The exact series of emotions will vary from situation to situation and from person to person, but whatever it is, the basic stages will always be or remain the same.

When initially confronted with a survival situation, most people including us will experience a mental shock. This form of shock, known as psychogenic shock, occurs as a result of extreme emotional stress. If not controlled properly, the crisis stage can immediately lead to irrational thoughts and panic, which are crucial to survival. The crisis stage is when most people suffer from temporary symptoms, which imitate psychosis as it can quickly lead to death due to severe psychological trauma for the unprepared individuals.

COPING STAGE AND GOAL SETTING

A coping period ensues (occurs later) after the initial situation assault. Survivors are now confronted with the gravity of their situation and must begin to take imminent actions. The importance of creating a plan during the crisis stage should now be apparent. Not only did creating the plan help deter feelings of desperation, but it could also render the transition to action much easier and less stressful.

Staying calm and adhering to the plan ensures that logical or rational decisions are made consistently. Decisions to take action based on emotion are usually not favourable to survival and can even be dangerous. Learning from the Navy SEALS Training Program, many prospective recruits attempt to become part of the elite squad, but as many as 75 percent of them unfortunately fail to complete the intensive training regimen. Consequently, The Navy then decided to investigate why so many physically capable candidates were failing and they began to commission a team of psychologists to have the problem figured out afterwards.

Actually, physical ability was not the issue why the above candidates did not succeed. Intelligence was also not the issue either as most of the Navy SEAL candidates tends to score above an average on their IQ tests. The psychologists determined that the sole reason for failure was that the candidates were not mentally prepared for the emotional and psychological stress that they had to deal with throughout the course of their intense training. Because of this, The Navy SEAL has since added psychological training to its curriculum and failure rates have been reduced drastically. Nevertheless, these same survival mindset tactics can be used by anyone and can truly mean the difference between life and death.

Meanwhile, most of us know the importance of setting goals in life. They intrinsically help us achieve the things we desire the most. Goal setting is even more pivotal during a moment of crisis. Short term, medium, and long term goals are all critical aspects of a proper survival mindset. The logic is simple. Instead of thinking about the long term consequences of survival, short term goals are much easier to attain and will build the confidence we need.

A short term goal might be as simple as surviving the next five minutes. A medium or mid-term goal could be something like locating and securing shelter for the evening or procuring some food. A long term goal may be as simple as surviving until the next day. The timeline for what is considered a short, medium, or long period are transformed during a survival situation. Living in this limited focus manner, consequently, will keep our brain healthy even when we are faced with unimaginable situations.

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HOW DOES WARFARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY AFFECT THE GROWTH OF CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH?

Nearly a quarter of the world’s children are estimated to live in countries affected by armed conflict or disastrous warfare. Following the Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine which dated back in February 2022 — the Ukrainian children are experiencing a series of devastating consequences of living in a war zone; the constant threat of shelling, shooting, losing the loved ones, as well as the worry over accessing food, clean drinking water and healthcare, plus the breakdown of their usual routines and structures. Bottom line, the mental health impact of Russia-Ukraine War is likely to have consequences for years to come according to Serhii Lukashov (The Director of SOS Children’s Villages in Ukraine).

First of all, Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression are the most common mental health disorders in the aftermath of war, both for adults and children. While the incidences of aforementioned disorders are difficult to foresee, most studies have discovered significantly that there has been increasingly levels of disturbance on children’s mental health compared to those who are in controlled populations. What’s more, to have witnessed or experiencing armed conflict during childhood poses "serious mental health risks and threats" to a child's development. Such exposure to different types of violence, the duration of the conflict, and the nature of experienced and witnessed traumatic events, in addition, are all associated with the onset and severity of mental disorders among conflict-affected children. Being frequently deprived of having basic needs, educational and vocational opportunities, and other resources which promote positive psychosocial development and mental health are another contributing factor to the adversity of children’s mental disorder. Overall, the most common type of mental health issue found among children exposed to conflict is PTSD (Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder) and depression.

Second of all, the intense level of exposure to conflict, violence and insecurity can have major psychological effects on children. In the study conducted by an international non-governmental organization for children based in UK (Save the Children Fund), it is reported that 84% of adults who were interviewed in Syria and Palestine stated that bombing and shelling as the number one cause of psychological stress in children’s daily lives, in which the state or the condition of their behavior became more fearful, nervous, and were increasingly suffered from frequent bed-wetting and involuntary urination; one of the common symptoms of toxic stress among children.

Toxic stress, from psychological lens, increases the likelihood of negative impacts on children’s development and health problems in their later cycle of life stages. Given the fact that a child’s experiences during the earliest years of life are vulnerable and possess a long-lasting impact on their developing brains, the so-called mental health disorder "toxic stress" has serious and enduring negative consequences on cognitive development and emotional regulation – especially, the prolonged activation of stress hormones in early childhood can reduce neural connections in areas of the brain dedicated to learning and reasoning; affecting the children’s abilities severely to perform later in their lives. At this point, conflict with no doubt imposes a huge impact of social cost on our future generations.

Furthermore, children with mental disorders are often subjected to discrimination, stigma, and victimization. Various mental disorders in children often cause some other serious issues. The way they behave, learn, or tackle various emotions, for instance, can further lead to other causes of acute distress in getting through a day. Many kids often experience worries and some internal fears in particular. As a result, they begin to express these emotions through their disruptive behaviors; displaying explicit signs of suffering from mental disorders.

Meanwhile, PTSD can occur in children even after a single traumatic event. However, repeated or prolonged trauma episode increases the risk as well as the vulnerability of children suffering from serious mental disorder. The symptoms of PTSD typically vary where the sufferers normally exhibit intense fear, helplessness, anger, sadness, horror or denial. While physical symptoms such as headaches and stomachaches can also be developed, children who experience repeated trauma may develop such a degree of sudden and extreme emotional reactions from numbing the trauma to deaden the pain.

Depression, on the other hand, can occur in children as young as three years old, where they can feel sad, hopeless, or show disinterest in things they used to enjoy. Besides, their sleeping patterns and energy levels may also change perpetually from time to time, and some may even self-harm. How a child’s mental health is affected will depend on a large extent of the support level they receive from their caregivers. However, this too becomes increasingly problematic and difficult during the period of warfare as normal attachments are frequently disrupted.

Some children could lose their caregivers and be separated from them, while there are some members of the family flee or stay behind to fight back, or even find that their caregivers are too depressed, anxious or preoccupied with protecting and seeking subsistence for the family to be fully emotionally available. The detrimental effects of war trauma for children are not restricted to specific mental health diagnoses, but also include a broader and multifaceted set of developmental outcomes that compromise relationships, school performance, and general life satisfaction.

As it was exacerbated further by the fact that violent conflict often brutally destroys or significantly damages school buildings and educational systems, without the structure offered by schools, children will need the adults in their lives to provide them with all the essential support system; which is probably the only reason why we often saw videos online of several adults in the underground bunkers who were facilitating Ukrainian children with lessons and designated playtimes during the midst of Russia’s invasion in the year of 2022.

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DRIVEN MINDS PODCAST - GILLIAN SAGANSKY'S OCD STORY (CHAPTER 8)

By my recollections, the main reason and the sole purpose of why this podcast is established is to promote both the significance and the essence of mental health awareness, such as addressing why it is imperative to look after the current state as well as the underlying condition of a person’s mental health, why people should not be afraid of stigma when it comes to openly discussing their mental health disorders, why such psychological issues should not be regarded as something taboo, etc. Well, there has been a plenty of exceptional guests who have by far been invited or featured in this podcast for your information, including the notable Malaysian-born actor and the world’s female martial arts icon "Michelle Yeoh", who successfully took home her Oscar for the Best Actress at the 95^th Academy Awards for her outstanding performance in the year of 2022 in her American absurdist comedy-drama film called "Everything Everywhere All at Once". Thus, allow me to briefly introduce you the mastermind and the lovely woman behind her show the so-called Driven Minds Podcast.

HOST OF DRIVEN MINDS PODCAST: GILLIAN SAGANSKY

If you type her name on search engines be it on Google or Yahoo, you will absolutely discover at least a few details of information pertaining to her track record of professionalism ranging from her previous written publications on US magazines, musical DJ activities, to social media platforms. Similar to any other social media influencers out there, she has actively been navigating both her website and other social media networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram as a result of her career journey in the realm of entertainment aside from her keen enthusiasm of being a mental health advocate.

Initially, I was not really into any showbiz vibes (the kind of industry she had been involving in). Neither was I interested in the luxurious fashion industry alike, nor being fairly knowledgeable about psychological issues and stuff in the first place. Fast forward, I accidently discovered her Instagram account in the midst of Russia’s ongoing military invasion of Ukraine in 2022, precisely the time when she decided to take part in helping thousands of Ukrainian refugees by joining one of the humanitarian efforts which was organized by the Global Empowerment Mission somewhere in April 2022.

(Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdbem7tN_NS/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=)

Anyway, to kick start with a preliminary introduction, Gillian Sagansky or popularly known by her nickname "Gigi" is a published writer, DJ, and host of the Driven Minds Podcast. If you come across visiting her website www.gilliansagansky.com, you will certainly read some pieces of information relating to her past and current work activities. Inspired by her own "arduous" (extremely tough + incredibly exhausting) mental health journey which spanned nearly two decades, she ultimately launched her mental health podcast the so-called Driven Minds in December 2020 in partnership with Porsche Type 7. Perhaps, you may be wondering what exactly the particular type of mental health issue that she had once been grappling with for almost twenty years. Believe it or not, it was none other than Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which will soon be outlined in the next following discussions.

GILLIAN SAGANSKY: 20 YEARS OF STRUGGLE WITH OCD

Basically, it all started when she was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 10 by a child psychiatrist and was subsequently recommended to consume several pills. Unfortunately, the unprecedented side effect of those pills she consumed led her to suffer not only from insomnia, but also severe OCD. As a result, she was struck with the compulsions to touch objects at a certain amount of time, counting everything incessantly to the point where she could not deal with anything related to the number 9 (e.g. if she saw a pair of shoes costs $9.49, there was no way she would have the courage to purchase it).

Then, following her diagnosis with OCD, she was later prescribed to undergo countless medications by a doctor. Sadly, she ended up being admitted to a hospital the moment when there was a major incident occurred with the way she consumed her drug prescriptions. At this stage, she was dead ashamed to share with anyone around her social circle that she suffered both from ADHD and OCD.

Next, after having graduated from the New York University in Modern Art & Philosophy, she managed to secure her very first job working as a writer and a DJ at prominent nightclubs. One day, when she went to her first ever therapy sessions in years, her therapist once told her or claimed that she never had anyone in her office with such a chronic OCD before. Subsequently, right until she decided to check in to a psychiatric hospital called McLean, she immediately went straight to the hospital’s counsellor, began to unveil the fact that she had constantly been misdiagnosed with wrong prescriptions, and ultimately decided to make an appeal to the hospital counsellor of McLean saying that she just needed to be there only for a week at her initial request.

(Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CVDiy3aNG6V/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=)

In short, her decision to turn to McLean hospital for help at the time was a plot twist. Within three months approximately, she finally cured herself from OCD and she no longer had to fear confronting anything associated with the number 9. After all, you can check out the entire episode of her OCD story in the form of audible version through the given link attached below.

(Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3oVzyCBXtbJSiH6aVdJp2E?si=_mSQuTO-RGetFngIab2VpA)

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