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#MeToo : Opportunity for a sensible conversation

#MeToo storm has finally arrived on Indian shores. Though we are aware of sexual harassment and exploitation of women since a long time and even have a few laws to prevent this, public discussions are rare.

 

Talking about these issues at home is a taboo in most Indian homes.

As our kids grow up and move about in the society for play, education, internship and finally work, they need to be sensitized. Don’t go out of the house and cover yourself well is not a great advice as it will result in loss of freedom and opportunity that we have fought to achieve.

There are no perfect answers, but we can still do a fairly good job here.

I believe that #MeToo conversation needs to happen with growing up kids. All adolescents should have an opportunity to discuss this. If you are a parent or teacher, you can do following things –
1. Ask your adolescent children, young adults, if they have heard of #MeToo
2. Hear out their thoughts about this issue – What do they know about it, What side are they on, what do they think about best way to investigate and punish
3. Most importantly as future adults in the society, what are their thoughts about prevention.
4. Having an open conversation about how to identify predators, predatory behaviours, self-protection, getting help, how to create safe workplaces, etc.
5. Don’t segregate boys and girls for this conversation. Let them hear all sides.

This could be the most important conversation of their life.

DON’T AVOID IT.
Don’t waste a golden opportunity to help our children get ready for world of work.

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Self-Hypnosis and Self-Management Workshop

Learn “Self-Hypnosis”

 

  • Useful for everyone looking for an effective self-management skill.
  • Learn to use techniques to change the way you think, feel and behave.
  • Change your habits
  • Become emotionally efficient
  • Learn with dedicated peers and lots of opportunity to practice your skills under supervision.
  • 20 participants per course for individual attention and personalized learning.

 

This is an intensive course that involves practice of skills that you learn. There will be practice sessions for each component.

 

You will have a well laid out personal improvement plan at the end of this workshop AND necessary skills to MAKE IT HAPPEN!

 

Course Content –

 

Day 1 –    

  1. Trance induction
  2. Deepening of trance
  3. Learning language of sub-conscious
  4. Dealing with anxiety and other negative emotions.
  5. Lots of practice

 

Day 2 – 

  1. Modulating autonomous functions like muscle relaxation, blood pressure, heart rate, pain.
  2. Understanding and changing damaging habits
  3. Future orientation – core of motivation
  4. Specific points for positive thoughts
  5. Positive habits and life change – one step at a time
  6. Lots of practice

 

2-day Training Camp – 27th and 28th October 2018 (Sat & Sun)

Time – 9.00am – 5.00pm

Venue – Hotel President, Off Karve Road, Pune – 411004

Course fee includes – Learning material, certificate, breakfast, tea and lunch.

PLUS, one personal hypnosis session with Dr Shukla for troubleshooting and continued practice.

 

Fees – INR 13,500/- per person

 

Contact Dr Bhooshan Shukla on 99229 94976 (sms and WhatsApp)

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Parenting Teenagers : Workshop for Parents

IF you have a teenager living in your home, you will find my workshop very useful.

 

My workshops are about learning practical skills that you can use everyday,

in REAL LIFE.

No philosophy, no lectures, no fluff, no clichés …. only practical knowledge and skills.

 

It is a TWO-DAY workshop that covers –

 

  1. Knowing you …knowing your spouse and other team – parenting styles and motivations.
  2. Knowing your teenager – Personality and what makes them tick and kick.
  3. Interactions – Between parenting team and with teenager – Communication Skills and NEGOTIATION SKILLS!
  4. Drawing Boundaries and guarding them – DISCIPLINE!
  5. Motivating your teenager
  6. Danger signs – don’t be blindsided … be alert and detect early.

 

What more can you need?  Join me for an interactive, skills-based workshop.

 

Dates – 25 & 26 August 2018 (Saturday and Sunday)

Time – 9.00am – 5.00pm (both days)

Venue – Hotel President, Off Karve Road, Pune – 411004

 

Fee Includes – Course Material, Breakfast, Lunch and Teas

 

Fees – INR 7650/- per person  (INR 13999/- for couple)

 

Contact No. : 9922994976 (sms and WhatsApp)

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Performance Anxiety in Children

A child in a state of severe anxiety before exams is a familiar sight in every school, coaching class and mental health clinic.

Being well prepared and being one of the better students in the class somehow goes hand in hand with this form of fear.
These kids develop severe physical and mental symptoms of anxiety close to their exam. Even for trivial exams and assessments.
Stomach aches, headaches, vomiting, restlessness, sweating, breathing trouble, altered behavior to outright panic all symptoms are seen.
It is also customary to BLAME parents, schools and “system” for this phenomenon.
This is far from truth. Because there are other chilled out kids in the same system, school and even home. Same parents have two kids who are polar opposites. I have even seen one of the twins paralyzed by this anxiety and other being an iceberg!
Conventional and popular model of anxiety says that “external agents” are necessary for anxiety. This model is scientifically incorrect.
A large part of anxiety is driven “internally” !
This means that temperament of the child (inborn part of personality), epi-genetics (environmental factors unlocking or shutting down gene expression), and other biological components of their nervous system decide what will be seen as threat by them and how will body react to this threat.
There  is “learning” as well. High anxiety in near relatives in the family provides a model for perceiving and expressing threat / fear. Vulnerable children under influence of this model “learn” anxiety in early life and continue to unfold this program all through their life.
This is a scientific explanation of how anxiety develops and perpetuates.
Unfortunately our society has a distorted model of mind that can be described as “romantic” model. It assumes that everyone of us is equal and brilliant. Only circumstances de-compensate us. So this model focuses on changing “environment”
While changing the environment helps a bit, it does not eliminate generation of anxiety.
So treatment of this anxiety must include biological changes, environmental changes (mainly response of near family and school) , psychological training (coping mechanisms, thought change, etc).
Unless all three (bio-psycho-social) components are addressed , treatment is not effective. Contribution of each component varies in each case, it needs to be teased out and treated accordingly.
Romantic models that blame schools and parents for EVERYTHING that goes wrong are unscientific.  They undermine child’s best resource – Their family!
Many times anxiety is so severe and incapacitating that medications are needed to create ground for further family and psychological work.
Blind resistance to medications (sometimes for right reasons, but mostly out of misconceptions) keeps the child from getting appropriate help.
No single remedy (medicines, family training or psychological therapies) works except when anxiety is very mild.
I do hope that parents are not unfairly blamed for every anxious child.