The Mental Compass

The five senses are essential for how we physically navigate the world, but they also have a powerful psychological impact on how we interpret and remember it. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell all shape perception, but among them, smell is especially closely linked to emotion and memory. The sense of smell helps us detect danger, recognise familiar environments, and even influences appetite and attraction. In addition to the basic biology, scent has a special place within the psychology of the senses, as it relates to processes of emotion and memory. Scent is a sense in which meaning precedes conscious understanding. Imagine the smell of freshly baked bread, a perfume wafting through a room from an unseen source, or the smell of rain on earth. Each of these does far more than create an olfactory sensation in the brain; each creates an emotional response as well. Scent triggers emotions and memories associated with them, creating our experiences of other people and the world around...

There was a time when Onam meant waking up early with one very important mission: flowers. Not buying them. Not ordering them online. Actually finding them. We would run around looking for different colours, carefully pluck flowers, argue over who found the prettiest ones, and return home with our little collections. Someone would draw the outline for the pookalam, someone else would start arranging the petals, and somehow, without anyone really planning it, everyone would end up sitting together on the floor, contributing something. The pookalam may not have been perfect, but it was ours. And then came the sadya. As children, we didn't know anything about the cultural significance of twenty different dishes, the symbolism of the banana leaf, or whether a particular preparation was traditionally made a certain way. We simply knew that there was a banana leaf in front of us and an unbelievable amount of food on it. We waited impatiently for the next serving, mixed everything togethe...

Written by : Dr. Jaikumar Velayudham, Consultant Psychiatrist, Chennai and Vellore Dr. Jaikumar Velayudham is a consultant psychiatrist with a deep interest in the intersection of history, psychology, and leadership. Through his writings, he explores the minds of iconic figures to uncover timeless mental health insights. He is a regular contributor to Mental Health Compass Magazine In the landscape of Tamil literature, C. Subramania Bharati stands not just as a poet, but as a phenomenon of sheer psychological intensity. While history remembers him as the "Mahakavi" (Great Poet), a modern psychiatric lens reveals a man whose cognitive architecture was a masterclass in dopaminergic drive and emotional resilience. The Neurochemistry of Fearlessness: Beyond "Achamillai" In clinical terms, fear is a survival mechanism mediated by the amygdala. In his iconic anthem “Achamillai, Achamillai,” Bharati doesn’t just ignore fear; he performs a cognitive override. By repeating t...

Have you ever found yourself sitting in a crowded room, staring at a bustling feed on your phone, or surrounded by coworkers, only to be hit by a heavy, hollow wave of isolation? It feels contradictory. We tend to think loneliness only happens when you are physically alone. But you can have a massive contacts list, a packed schedule, and a permanent smile while chatting away, yet still feel empty inside. Everything looks fine from the outside. You are talking, laughing, and getting through the day, but a quiet voice keeps asking, "Why do I feel so isolated when I'm clearly surrounded by people?" The key lies in understanding what loneliness actually is, not as the absence of people, but as the absence of felt connection. According to the WHO In its report From Loneliness to Social Connection: Charting a Path to Healthier Societies, social connection is defined as the ways people relate to and interact with others. Loneliness is the painful subjective feeling that arises ...

What is Caregiving?   Caregiving is the act of providing daily support, be it is emotional or physical, to people affected by aging, disability, injury, or chronic conditions.   If you are a caregiver and someone comes up to you and asks, “Do you feel physically and emotionally exhausted by taking care of someone who cannot take care of themselves due to their health issues?” And if your instant answer is “YES”; then caregiving might be impacting you more than you know.   The Real cost of Caregiving  Historically, the nature of caregiving, both formal and informal, has been invisible to society. The burden of heavily taking care of a close family member or a patient, battling disabilities, chronic or terminal illness may take a drastic toll on both a caregiver’s mental and emotional health. If you are a formal caregiver like a nurse, or especially, if you classify as an informal caregiver, meaning you are an immediate family member of the care recipien...

You might be an adult now, but some of the things that you learned as a child may still subconsciously influence the way you live, love and respond to the outer environment. Why can’t some people take criticism well? Why do some struggle to say no? Why do some find it difficult to trust people, express their emotions or ask for help from others? Our adult personalities are shaped by many things including our temperament, experiences, the friendships we have and the culture that we are born and brought up in. But one of our earliest influences comes from somewhere much closer to home: our parents and the environment in which we grow up. Parenting is not simply about teaching a child what is right and wrong. It also helps in shaping a child’s early understanding of relationships, emotions, boundaries, safety and self-worth. In many ways, parents serve as some of our first role models for how to interact with others, resolve conflicts, express affection and respond to mistakes. Parenting ...

There is something strangely comforting about telling yourself, “I know I shouldn’t spend this money, but I deserve a little treat.” Maybe it is an expensive coffee after a difficult day, a cute blind-box collectible you absolutely did not need, a fancy dessert after work, or that tiny online purchase that somehow turns into three more things in your cart. You know your bank balance exists. You know adulthood is expensive. And yet, for a few minutes, that little purchase makes everything feel… slightly better. Welcome to Treatonomics, the growing habit of spending small amounts on affordable pleasures, especially when larger purchases feel out of reach. When financial anxiety is high, people may become more cautious about major spending while still looking for small ways to experience pleasure. The result Instead of the expensive holiday, there is the ₹250 coffee. Instead of a shopping spree, there is a cute keychain. Instead of a weekend getaway, there is a ridiculously overpriced pa...

What if your tomato had a complaint about you? What if the mosquito buzzing around your room at 2 a.m. was actually telling its friends, “Can humans please stop disturbing our sleep?” What if vegetables went shopping for humans, cats ran cafés, and traffic signals had opinions about the people ignoring them? Somewhere between scrolling through one absurd AI-generated reel after another, the internet seems to have entered a strange new universe where humans are no longer the only ones allowed to have a perspective. And honestly, we seem to be loving it. These parallel-universe AI reels are funny because they take something completely ordinary and turn it upside down. A vegetable market becomes a place where humans are the products. A mosquito becomes the exhausted victim. A dog becomes the disappointed owner. Suddenly, the world we know is being narrated by something we would normally never imagine having a voice. It is ridiculous, slightly bizarre and, somehow, incredibly entertaining....

"THIS ATM IS CLOSED NOW." What do you infer from the above sentence? Maybe an ATM is no longer in service or something similar.   However, this was a statement made by Atul Subhash, a 34-year-old AI professional and software engineer from Bengaluru, who laid bare the terrifying reality of judicial and emotional isolation faced by men. Before ending his life, Atul left behind a 24-page suicide note and an 80-minute video detailing years of systemic harassment, false cases, and financial extortion that pushed him past his limit.   The tragic phrase became a rallying cry for men who feel evaluated purely by their financial utility rather than their humanity. His death was not just a personal tragedy; it was a structural failure. It highlighted how legal frameworks and social attitudes can be weaponized against men, leaving them feeling completely helpless, cornered, and stripped of dignity.   While individual cases are complex and driven by unique intersection...