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Hindustan Times
11-06-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Feeling drained at work? Experts share what employees and organisations can do to ease burnout
Burnout is an alarming reality for working professionals navigating deadlines and workloads. It's the feeling of being completely mentally exhausted without any motivation (and you are on autopilot). Moreover, the pressure doesn't ease after clocking out either. In fact, it many times follows you home, weighing down heavily on your personal time as well. Being emotionally drained over time can lead to a serious meltdown one day, from which bouncing back may be difficult. To understand how employee burnout can be better managed, HT Lifestyle reached out to experts who shed light on how to reduce burnout in employees, covering multiple facets, including what organisations can do to support mental health and how employees can strengthen their own emotional wellbeing at a personal level. Sheena Sood, psychologist and counsellor at P D Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mahim, said, 'That constant fatigue, emotional detachment, or inability to concentrate, it may not just be a busy season. Persistent workplace exhaustion is often a sign of something deeper, emotional burnout. As work demands grow, mental health can take a backseat, leading to serious consequences that often go unnoticed.' Sheena Sood shared 4 ways employees can do at a personal level in the workplace to alleviate stress: Dr Noel Coutinho, co-founder and chief business officer at ekincare, said, 'Employers play a pivotal role in creating a mentally healthy workplace, one that doesn't just react to burnout but actively works to prevent it. Corporate mental health efforts must evolve from reactive to proactive. Systems should be built to foster emotional resilience before burnout sets in. According to ekincare Report, out of 2,095 reported mental health cases, over half were linked to personal or emotional stress rather than workplace pressures, highlighting the need for holistic wellness approaches that go beyond office walls." Dr Coutinho shared these 5 ways organisations can help reduce employee fatigue: Stress doesn't magically disappear when you leave work; in fact, it lingers and can even spiral into anxiety as you start dreading the next day. Dr Ajit Dandekar, head of psychiatry and mental health at Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mumbai, suggested preparing a personal mental health kit at home. He said, 'Creating a mental health kit doesn't only mean filling a box with commercially available 'stress-relieving' toys. The strategy to create a toolkit should focus on collecting personally and scientifically meaningful objects. Individuals with anxiety and depression relate to coping methods like religious practices, social acceptance, planning, and seeking emotional support tools that help them feel anchored and proactive. Other than guided activities like mindfulness and journaling, small group discussions (maybe with parents or siblings) significantly reduce social anxiety and improve well-being. A truly effective mental health kit isn't just a collection of practices; it's a balance of internal strategies like mindfulness and acceptance, and external support through communal coping. ' Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
CNA
21-05-2025
- Health
- CNA
Obesity could become public health crisis in India if left unchecked, say health experts
MUMBAI: Vishwanath Gaitonde has struggled with his weight for years – and the problem only grew when he reached his 50s. The advertising business head, who currently weighs more than 120kg, told CNA about the issues he began facing as he got older. 'Your knees start giving in. Your cholesterol starts increasing. Your blood pressure starts going up,' he said. He is far from alone in his home country of India. The world's most populous nation now has more than 80 million obese people – or roughly 17 per cent of its population. This includes 10 million youths aged five to 19, according to research by NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, a global network of health scientists and practitioners. Health experts have warned that the problem will worsen, with obesity set to become a full-scale public health crisis if nothing is done. One in three Indians – or about 450 million people – are expected to be overweight by 2050, based on a study published by the Lancet medical journal. If this happens, India is projected to come second after China on a list of countries with the most overweight and obese adults. Doctors said sedentary lifestyles, fast food, and genetic factors are major contributors. 'Altogether, this changing era (of) preservatives, artificialisation of food, ready-made food - everything together is generating a pandemic of obesity in India,' said bariatric surgeon Shashank Shah from Mumbai's PD Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre. 'We see practically … one out of every three to five (people) having some grade of obesity or is overweight.' Dr Shah is worried this could lead to an exponential surge in the number of patients developing diabetes at a younger age, which would further strain India's already-overstretched healthcare system. WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to consume less oil and exercise more. But many have instead turned to weight-loss drugs, including Vishwanath. In particular, an appetite suppressant from the United States, called Mounjaro, became available in India in March. It has been gaining popularity in the weight-loss circuit despite being primarily used to treat Type 2 diabetes. 'As a person who really wants to lose weight, you do a lot of research, you do a lot of reading, and I've been following the Mounjaro (trend) since the last few years,' said Vishwanath. 'I was just waiting for it to come to India. In fact, I had half a mind to import it but the cost was prohibitive. I couldn't afford it.' Importing the drug would have cost him about US$1,000 a month, but he is now paying much less – US$160 – for the lowest dose. He said it has helped him to lose 4kg in a month. Dr Rajiv Kovil, who prescribed the drug to Vishwanath, said having such an option is good but warned that weight-loss drugs have their limitations. The head of diabetology at Zandra Healthcare added: 'An anti-obesity drug is not the magic bullet for India. It can only kickstart the progression of weight loss. 'Good lifestyle habits, good dietary habits, (and) good exercise remain the cornerstone of weight loss,' he said. Dr Shah concurred that prevention is better than cure, adding that some weight-loss drugs need to be taken for a lifetime and that long-term side effects are still unknown.
