Those of us afflicted by mental illness often lament the lack of quality professional care across our vast country. The illness could be panic disorder, anxiety or more serious ones such as OCD (Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder), PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), clinical depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. The primary go-to caregivers are psychiatrists and psychologists. We, however, find that despite regular visits to these professionals, we seek something more.

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In addition to our treatment and consultations, can we do something to help ourselves?

Yes, we indeed can. We at BipolarIndia.com have found a way to assist ourselves by way of peer support. It began hesitantly in the form of online discussions on our website. Bipolar and depression afflicted hesitantly began discussing their problems. Visitors to the site then began proactively answering each other's queries and sharing experiences. A mini revolution was happening! People in India rarely discuss such challenges openly on a public forum. Conversations had begun around mental wellness virtually out of thin air.

The momentum gathered had to give birth to something more fruitful and it did. In September 2015, an ardent visitor to the site asked me if we could hold a meeting offline too. Until then, I had been appealing without success to people to attend such meets. That first meet in September had just the four of us. Since then, we meet once every month in Mumbai on a Sunday morning. Our peer support group has taken firm roots and the latest meet is slated to have an attendance of 17, including caregivers who have generously volunteered to address our issues.

How exactly do Peer Support Groups help?

1. Mental illness carries the burden of stigma due to which people rarely discuss their problems even with relatives, let alone colleagues. What is astonishing is that complete strangers open their hearts out at our meets. That confidence comes from the fact that the recipient of such sharing is himself or herself an afflicted and can be trusted to maintain privacy.

2. Especially where mental illness is concerned, conventional treatment/counselling by caregivers has certain limitations. The overwhelming thought at the back of the mind of a patient normally is, "How would you understand, Doctor? Yours is just bookish knowledge. You haven't experienced the torture that I have been through!" That barrier is dismantled automatically when a conversation between peers takes place— "She has been there too. At least she can empathise with what I am talking about."

3. By sharing their experiences pertaining to medicines, doctors, therapies and side effects, the knowledge pool expands. The group members have first hand, fairly reliable source of information to act upon. Word of mouth is trusted more than information from the internet.

4. The likelihood of adherence to treatment is higher among peers. Similarly, abstinence from alcohol or drugs becomes easier. From what I have learned, peer support groups are widely prevalent in the developed countries, especially in the UK. They have played a stellar role in the rehabilitation process. Furthermore, in some nations, some of the afflicted themselves are trained to counsel their peers by professional bodies! This way, they act as counsellors who have had a ringside view of the illness from their own journeys.

5. Engaging regularly with a peer group is highly motivating. You have to just see the camaraderie and bonding at the end of one of our meets! We are one big family and the progress of one member spurs the others. Those who are struggling find inspiration from those who are now doing well, more so when they come to know of the trajectory of recovery. It gives them belief: "If he can do it, so can I."Let's take the story of Tamanna. Tamanna, afflicted with bipolar for the last seven years, was struggling with her illness and didn't have much hope that she would ever recover to normalcy. She had not interacted with a peer and she thought her dark world of misery was unique. It was but natural for Tamanna to look at her prospects from a narrow, distorted perspective. When she joined our group, she shared her story with us and we listened attentively. It was heartening to see that even sharing her story with her peers made her feel much lighter. The smile on her face, which was hesitant to begin with, now reflected some sparkle. She revealed that she had recently stopped all her medication and as a result was experiencing heightened swings of mood. We coaxed her to see a psychiatrist at the earliest and resume treatment. Gratifyingly, she has agreed.

Tamanna's is a small victory

What we have begun, although quite effective, is a tiny drop in the vast ocean. More such groups need to spring up in every nook and corner of the country so that they become a strong tier of support for our millions of mentally ill people. We can do little about the scarcity of psychiatrists but we can act to be a strong support system for each other.

Let's walk together for mental wellness.

The writer is an author, columnist, Storytelling and Personal Branding Coach and Mental Wellness Catalyst.