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Still Under Construction: You Don’t Need Your Life Figured Out at 20

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Image by The Independent It’s 11:42 p.m. on a Sunday, and I’m sitting aimlessly, watching the blue light reflect off my phone screen and thinking about how simple my dreams used to be. I wanted to be a dancer when I was a kid. Why? Because I loved dancing and thought I was really good at it. Later, I wanted to be an actress because I enjoyed performing. When I went to college, I became interested in academics, again believing I was good at them, and decided to build a career around something connected to my studies. Then I created a LinkedIn profile. I watched my classmates update their bios to “Incoming Analyst” or “Founder,” while my relatives left unread WhatsApp voice messages asking, “Beta, what are your future plans after this?” and “Is there even any scope for this?” Suddenly, all my dreams felt useless, as if they had never been good enough. A tight, suffocating panic seized my chest, and in the quiet of that late-night spiral, I wanted to scream into the void: “Let me live my ...
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When Technology Meets Violence: Protecting Empathy and Humanity

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Image by SSL Store Written By : T Mugunthan Chari Counselling Psychologist & Social Observer, Chennai I am a deeply sensitive person, witnessing, discussing or reading about violence—especially against vulnerable segments of society like women, children, and the elderly—takes a heavy emotional toll on me. To stay away from these types of breaking news and discussions, I am away from TV as well as newspapers.                 That is for the same reason, one year back when there was a dowry related death in 2025- of a young girl in Tiruppur town by suicide, I was disturbed so badly. As a couple I & my wife sought help to speak to an elderly psychologist to air our views to let our emotions to calm down. [1] However, the escalation of such instances, combined with the troubling emergence of technology being co-opted into criminal plots, points to a disturbing cultural and psychological shift.Sadly, these sorts of instances are on th...
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International Men’s Day: Understanding Masculinity Beyond Stereotypes

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Image by People Matter Every year on November 19, the world pauses for a moment to talk about men in a way we do not usually do. International Men’s Day often feels quieter compared to the loud celebrations of other special days. There are no big campaigns, no major festivals, and sometimes not even a proper conversation. Yet the day carries a powerful purpose. It opens a space to talk about the emotional worlds of men, the expectations that shape them, and the silent struggles that many carry in their daily lives. From childhood onward, boys are taught very specific ideas about strength. They hear phrases like “Be strong”, “Do not cry”, or “Handle it on your own”. These lessons seem harmless at first but slowly settle into a rigid pattern. Men grow up believing that their value is connected to how well they can hide their fear, pain, or confusion.  Many learn to measure themselves through control rather than connection, and independence rather than vulnerability. This shapes not o...
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The More You Try Not to Think About It, the More It Stays: Understanding Monitor and Acceptance Theory

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Image by Brahma Kumaris Have you ever told yourself, “I must not think about this,” only to find that the thought keeps returning? Perhaps it was an embarrassing moment from years ago, an argument with someone you love, an upcoming interview, or a mistake you wish you could undo. You may try distracting yourself, watching a movie, scrolling through social media, or keeping yourself busy. Yet, somewhere in the background, your mind keeps returning to the same thought.  Interestingly, the harder you try to push it away, the more noticeable it seems to become. Why does this happen? Sometimes, our attempts to escape an uncomfortable thought can keep us mentally connected to it. This is where Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) offers an interesting perspective on how we deal with our inner experiences. Monitor and Acceptance Theory helps explain how our relationship with thoughts and emotions can influence the way we experience psychological discomfort. The theory highlights two import...
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Thriving On Your Flaws: How Your Insecurity Breathes Life Into Their Industry

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Beauty is non-negotiable. While your intelligence, wisdom and personality may always stand out, none would deny being more attractive and beautiful than they are, if given an opportunity. People preach acceptance of flaws and comfort in one's skin but when it actually comes to improving their appearance, anyone would hardly step back. And that isn't a bad thing, of course. Just as you work on your internal aspects, the external ones deserve attention too. Why it matters more than we admit Attractiveness, no doubt, plays a major role in how people perceive you or how you perceive yourself. The Halo effect is a well known phenomenon where your physical impression and beauty unconsciously shapes what others assume about your personality or abilities. People who fit the beauty standards of a place somewhat enjoy the confidence their appearance gives them from a young age as they feel more socially included and are more consistently reinforced. This in turn helps them take more step...
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Toon Therapy : Lessons from the Animated World - Steven Universe

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"Steven Universe" is a groundbreaking animated series that offers valuable psychological lessons about mental health and the LGBTQ+ community. The show’s portrayal of characters with diverse identities and emotional struggles highlights the importance of understanding and acceptance.  It emphasizes that mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, are universal and that seeking help and support is vital for well-being. Through its storytelling, the series encourages viewers to be empathetic and open-minded, fostering a safe space for conversations about mental health.  The show also plays a crucial role in raising awareness about LGBTQ+ issues. By featuring characters with different sexual orientations and gender identities, "Steven Universe" normalizes diversity and promotes inclusivity. It sends a powerful message that love and identity are valid regardless of societal expectations.  This representation is especially important for young viewers who may be...
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The Physics of Sound and Communication: How Vibrations Become Meaning in the Human Brain

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There’s a moment that happens in every conversation that we almost never notice. Someone says something, and before the sentence is even finished, you already understand it. You don’t stop and think about how you understood it. You don’t feel like you converted anything. It just lands, clean and immediate, as if the meaning came built into the sound. But if you slow that moment down just a little, it starts to feel less simple, because what actually reaches you first isn’t meaning at all. It’s just air moving. When someone speaks, their voice doesn’t send out “words” in any solid sense. What leaves their mouth is vibration. Their vocal cords move, shaping breath into patterns, and those patterns travel outward as tiny changes in air pressure. That’s all sound really is: air shifting in a very specific way. By the time it reaches you, it’s incredibly subtle. You don’t feel it, and you don’t see it, and yet somehow it carries everything. From your side, it doesn’t feel like receiving vib...
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Not Every Therapist Is a Hero, and Not Every Patient Is ‘Crazy’: Debunking Mental Health Myths in Tamil Cinema

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Imagine watching a film in which a character visits a psychologist. Within minutes, the therapist understands everything about their childhood, identifies the root of their problems, and offers a solution that changes their life. Or perhaps the character with a mental health condition is portrayed as unpredictable, violent, or frightening.  These scenes might make for compelling cinema, but they also leave audiences with impressions about mental health that can be far removed from reality. In a country where conversations about therapy are still growing, Tamil cinema has a particularly important role to play. After all, for many people, the first introduction to a psychological condition or a therapist may not come from a textbook or a consultation room, but from a screen. Tamil films have never shied away from exploring psychological themes. However, the way these themes are presented has often been dramatic rather than accurate. Take Anniyan, for instance. While the film introduc...
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From Employee Loyalty to Emotional Detachment: Are Indian Workplaces Creating Their Own Quiet Quitters?

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Have you ever found yourself staring at your office laptop at 6 p.m., wondering whether you should finally log out or wait for that one last message from your manager? Perhaps you have attended meetings after working hours, answered calls during weekends, or taken on responsibilities that were never part of your job description simply because you did not want to appear uncommitted. For many employees in India, these situations have become part of everyday working life.  But increasingly, people are beginning to draw a line. They complete their assigned work, meet their deadlines, and fulfil their responsibilities, but stop going beyond what is expected of them. This growing workplace behaviour is commonly described as quiet quitting . Despite its name, it does not necessarily mean resigning or refusing to work. It means stepping back from the expectation that one's job should consume every available hour, emotion, and personal ambition. From a career counsellor's perspective, q...
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THE SCHOOL LIFE DIARIES - Two Generations, One Home: The Struggle To Understand

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Written by : Ms. Blessy Jenifer Joannah. H Counselling Psychologist and Student Counsellor Blessy Jenifer Joannah H. is a Counselling Psychologist and Student Counsellor at RCM Matriculation School, Avadi. Her professional work and research focus on adolescent mental health, with a strong interest in understanding the emotional and psychological challenges faced by today’s adolescents. She is deeply committed to supporting young minds through counselling, awareness, and early intervention. In the modern world, the relationship between parents and children is gradually transforming. The rise of technology, social media and changing cultural values have influenced the way young people understand life, often creating perspectives that differ from those of their parents who grew up in a more traditional environment with stricter discipline and minimal digital exposure.  As a result, parents and children living in the same home may sometimes feel as though they are living in different w...
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