In this world of various mental issues, including depression, trauma, anxiety, and panic attack, there is the need for someone who can help you to come out of that hole. People often get irritated with even small things, get depressed after a stressful event, and face mental illnesses due to negative experiences in life.
To help the people overcome these adversaries, there is always a friend to help or a psychologist. They will understand your problem and, using effective remedies, will try their best to cure you of the uncomfortable phase you are going through. One such angel is Srishti Asthana.
She is a General Psychologist and a Mental Health Advocate who is always ready to heal people suffering from the consequences of bad times. Once you get in touch with her, you will realize that she is obsessed with understanding humans.
Knowing Srishti Asthana as a Person And Her Choices!
More than a psychologist, Srishti is a person with a variety of choices. On playing a rapid-fire round with her, she gave some interesting answers.
- Hollywood Movies/ Bollywood Movies?
– Bollywood - SRK/ Salman/ Amir or Tom Cruise/ RDJ?
– SRK - Marvel or DC Fan?
– Actually, I am not aware of them. So neither. - Biriyani or Momos?
– Biriyani - Panipuri or Golgappa?
– I don’t quite know their difference, but I’ll go for the spicier one. - Batman or Superman?
– Batman - Lata Mangeshkar or Asha Boshle?
– Asha Boshle - Kishore Kumar or Mohammed Rafi?
– Mohammed Rafi - Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?
– Harry Potter - For a holiday destination, where do you want to go? Paris or Switzerland?
– Paris - Where would you like to go for adventure? Amazon Forest or the Sahara Desert?
– Amazon Forest - Cricket or Football?
– Cricket - Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Or Virat Kohli or AB De Villiers?
– Virat Kohli - Which is your most favorite movie to date?
– Whenever I am asked this question, I’ve never been able to come out with ‘the one,’ but I want to say the name of a movie that I like to watch repeatedly. That too is tough, but still, I’ll go for ‘JANE TU YA JANE NA.’
On Choosing Psychology as Her Path
You know doctors have an MBBS degree, but why do we need a cancer specialist, neurosurgeon, and cardiac specialist? Specialization in the respective fields is significant. You know, these specializations are necessary. And many times, there’s a strong connection between the mind and the body.
That is, any mental issue you go through can translate into physiological issues in time. So there are a lot of diseases and disorders like coronary heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure-related issues, and lifestyle issues that are linked with your mental health. And you know the stress level you’ve experienced as well.
So you need someone who understands the human mind, behavior, and emotions deeply and can help the individual gain resilience. They must have the right perspective towards life and must help you handle stress. Hence there’s an obvious need for psychologists in society, and that’s why I chose it.
Definition of Psychology as per Srishti
I think psychology is the study of A to Z of an individual. It is like a personalized study that enables you to understand a human being complete, from the most difficult traumas to the simplest experiences that have shaped them into who they are today. So, in short, it is the study of each and everything that can help you understand a person.
Giving Suggestions to People Who Are Interested in Pursuing Psychology as a Career
I actually made a video on this one on my Instagram account because this is the most common question I have come across. Here are some of the facts that an individual should consider before going into psychology:
I always say that you need not turn your passion into your career, and the same goes with psychology. 10 years from today, the field will flourish more and have various industries, whereas, at present, the situation is not alluring. So if you have lasting patience to watch the industry grow past its many struggles and be a founding member of a successful industry, then great, come and join us.
But today, as far as the financial condition and recognition status are concerned, it is still in the phase of struggle. So it is very difficult for psychologists who have poor marketing and communication skills or struggle to promote themselves to come to light. It is necessary to learn additional skills, which the students don’t get to learn in colleges. If you choose what you are passionate about, but it fails to give you the financial reward, it is not making the work fruitful.
Hence, if you love the field enough to wait, and if you are ready to struggle from the beginning to make your identity, you should make your passion your career aspect.
Does it Help an Individual to be an Extrovert Rather Than an Introvert?
On this question, Srishti’s take was that’s a very interesting question. Psychology can help you gain new skills. If I were to share my personal journey in school, I was a very awkward and introverted child. But when I started studying psychology and understood my belief systems and thought processes and what is stopping me from being a good spokesperson, I shifted to being more of an advocate rather than a scared introvert.
Psychology has helped me personally, and I have seen many introverts gaining confidence and many extroverts becoming more emotional, developing sensitivity, and becoming in tune with the environment as they learn psychology.
So yes, you will not take a drastic turn from being an introvert to an extrovert, but like every other personality type, you have a skill set, and the learning process will help you acquire the things you don’t have.
On How The Psychologists Are Handling This Situation When Everyone is Suffering From Mental Problems, Especially During The Pandemic
Right now, there is a lot of cooperation between the mental health professionals, which has been there normally, but in these tough times, the cooperation has doubled as we are more supportive of each other’s mental health as well. As a community, we are coming together by supporting and helping each other. We listen to each other problems and guide one another on how to deal with different cases. So I think it is this mutual support that helps us handle this situation.
On The Psychology Behind Phobias
Phobias are basically the fears that have grown intense in your subconscious mind. Many times they are based on some incidents that have happened, and many times they are not. So, you need to extensively work on the subconscious as to why it is reacting to some stimulus. It requires a lot of therapy.
Take cockroaches, for example – It is possible that if you are a kid, your parents would say – “Eat your food, otherwise we will put a cockroach on you.” This way, you already develop a fear for that thing, and someone somewhere reinforces it. Small events can lead to phobias as well. So we need to dissect our memories and understand our subconscious belief systems to really understand why we have phobias.
Can People Deal With Phobias on Their Own? Or is it Always Necessary to See a Specialist?
I think it is always better to see a specialist, especially if phobias are causing you panic attacks and hampering your capacity to function properly. For example, if someone has claustrophobia, they will not be able to travel in the metro. However, their workplace is far away. Since this forms a major obstacle in their work life, they have to see a specialist.
In This Dangerous Covid Situation, We Tend to Give up And Break Down if There’s The Tiniest Bit of Problem. But on The Other Hand, we Find Happiness and Try to Stay Calm. In This Chase of Happiness And Constant Dealing of Problems, How do You Think Our Mind Deals With These Contrasting Thoughts?
First of all, I am saying this repeatedly, stop marking this as a new normal. This is not normal. Acknowledge these situations as abnormal, they are not permanent, and it is right to have an emotional reaction, and it is okay not to know how to handle your emotions. It is very natural, happening to everyone. So don’t give yourself a difficult time for having certain emotional responses. Happiness is a very abstract and subjective concept.
Your definition of happiness and mine will be different. However, instead of thinking, “Oh my God, only if I do well in my career, or only if I meet my life partner and walk my dream, will I be happy,” try to bring yourself back to the day to day life, find happiness and enjoy.
Srishti said we should focus on the really normal, basic things at home in our regular schedule, i.e., the simple treasures of life. And stop thinking of it as a normal situation. It is not, and you are bound to have any emotional reaction to it.
Regarding Srishti’s YouTube Channel
I have noticed that people who have faced difficult situations at a point in their life share their stories and experiences to help you. One, I have seen an extremely professional psychologist giving you a lecture. But it puts in the right and reliable information together. So that I think is my channel’s USP.
Srishti Asthana is a perfect example of a dedicated psychologist who has been engaged in dealing with clients and helping them overcome their respective issues, especially in this Covid situation. People like her are certainly helping the world cope with mental problems and lead happy and peaceful life.
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