‘Joint Family System Was A Stress Buster’

Bhubaneswar: The joint family system, prevalent in the society not too long ago, served as a stress buster as the family members supported each other, said eminent psychologist, Soumya Sucharita Mohapatra.

“In the joint family system, which contained multiple units, the members shared their joys and sorrows, which soaked up their sorrows and frustrations and prevented them from going into depression,” said Manam Foundation Chief Therapeutic Counselor Mohapatra, while speaking to students of the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital and Institute of Dental Sciences, Faculties of Medical and Dental Sciences at the SOA (deemed to be University) here on Thursday.

Mohapatra said doctors have a crucial responsibility in the society and need to have proper mental hygiene to serve people.

“If doctors are happy, the patients will be happy too,” she said while urging the students not to express their emotions or expose their mental stress before patients.

Physical exercise and reading books are a must for doctors, she said, adding that getting addicted to digital devices was not the way to get rid of mental stress.

“The need is to develop a support system around you. If you feel happy, you’ll perform in a much better way,” she said.

Referring to the famous Bollywood movies ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ and ‘3 Idiots’, she said the most important factor was that one must learn to adapt to all situations and remain happy.

Founder of Manam Foundation, Anuradha Mohapatra focussed on the growing number of suicides saying it was not the solution to any problem. “It is actually a permanent disaster to solve a temporary problem,” she said.

IMS and SUM Hospital Dean, Prof Gangadhar Sahu, Head of the Psychiatry Department, Dr Surjeet Sahoo, SOA’s Dean (Students’ Welfare) Dr Jyoti Ranjan Das and Medical Superintendent of SUM Hospital, Dr Pushparaj Samantasinhar also addressed the students.