Dr. Lavanya Seshasayee Introduction

I am Dr. Lavanya Seshasayee.

I am India’s first recovery specialist.  I have had 20 years of experience in recovery. I am a doctor who once was diagnosed with Chronic Schizophrenia and labelled a medical failure but I proved all my psychiatrists wrong. I have a Ph.D. degree in Women’s Mental Health and I am also a Women’s Mental Health Specialist. I have been a BBC World Radio interviewee. I have worked in the top notches of Mental Health in India and held various fellowships abroad. I have presented research papers on recovery at innumerable conferences across the globe!!! 

I have been part of the user survivor movement, the self-advocacy movement, large medico-psychiatric teams and I have experimented with several models of recovery, meaning recovery through creative writing, recovery via music, recovery via the sociological model of recovery, recovery via legal awareness, recovery through dance and body movement, recovery through yoga, recovery through hypnosis, recovery through spirituality and yes recovery via the medical model too which did not work for me until I combined it with all of the models I mentioned already.   

And I am here to tell you that irrespective of what model or what combination of models suit you, there is complete hope for recovery. It is best to have a mix and match of whatever models suit you. Recovery should be based on the individual choices people make. Remember, Force is not mental health.

And we need to be very careful about language also. So-called mental illness is better conceptualized via the term ‘psychosocial disability,’ since it is a lot more respectful to those who are undergoing it.

And remember, a capabilities informed approach is the need of the hour! So what is a capabilities informed approach to recovering from Schizophrenia or any other kind of psychosocial disability? It is an approach that focuses on everything somebody with a psychosocial disability can do rather than currently existing symptoms, negative behaviours, or what the person can’t do or is not doing as of now!!! 

And this needs to be the crux of all healing processes in mental health. So let’s get our hands muddy!!! And do some work, the first step to which would be to take a quantum leap into a thoroughly new world of infinite possibilities!!!

Look far beyond into a world of infinite possibilities instead of believing in defeatist ideas most psychiatrists and psychologists saturate you with.

Let a hopeful heart carry you through. 

For, things will work out if you trust and believe 

There is no limit to what you can do!!!

Don’t be bound by the Newtonian world view or the Newtonian paradigm,

It is extremely limiting.

The world of quantum physics offers you a whole lot of possibilities to recover and completely at that. 

Have you ever been told by a psychiatrist that you will never recover completely from Schizophrenia and that you can only be treated for it?

It is high time you discarded that bullshit. 

That is if you truly believe in the power of your mind!!

What if I told you your mind has the power to achieve anything it wants to!!! You can recover from Schizophrenia!!! This whole series of podcasts which I – Dr. Lavanya Seshasayee am coming up with will teach you to explore recovery from Schizophrenia in a safe and non-judgmental environment.

This is irrespective of whether or not you’ve been swallowing psychiatric pills. 

What I mean is, this cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach. Some people are tremendously helped by psychiatric pills but there is an equal number of people who are destroyed by psychiatric pills.

You just need to experiment and explore for yourself whether your brain can function well with psychiatric pills or not.

But whatever your decision may be, use the suggestions given by me in this first series of podcasts on recovery along with psychiatric pills if they suit you and without psychiatric pills if they don’t suit you. We are pro-choice!!!

Tap into the wonder that your mind truly is!!! Strengthen yourself day by day. There surely is hope for recovery and I’m here to tell you how. 

Let’s explore recovery together!!!

But you must believe you can recover!!! It starts with a very strong belief system irrespective

of how bad things MAY seem right now!!!

Believe in yourself!!!

Believe in the power of love!!

Believe in your ability!!

Believe in what tomorrow can bring you!!! 

Take rightful action in the current moment but also believe in a new tomorrow.

Change yourself and change the world!!!

Charge yourself completely like a turbo jet engine

And……. unleash yourself!!!

Your recovery is on the way!!!

And remember we’re here to spread love and not hatred!!!

Here’s to a new dawn!!!

Be open to life

Embrace life

Embrace your new journey of recovery from Schizophrenia!!!

And ……………

Let’s write a brand new story in mental health!!! 

Dr. Lavanya Seshasayee – Creative Literary Non-Fictional Writer, Psychiatry Survivor, Mental Health Specialist, Psychotherapist, Self-Advocate, Global Activist for Women’s Mental Health, Legal advocate, Rebel and Humanist, Women’s Activist, Humourist AND FOUNDER OF THE GLOBAL WOMEN’S RECOVERY MOVEMENT!!!!