Jiyo Parsi: Sunday Specials

Team Jiyo Parsi is always on its toes even more so in these times of difficulty. We started with providing free tele counselling to all citizens to reduce anxiety during the lockdown. We moved on to the highly popular Friday Forum which are entertaining, educative and interactive sessions with achievers from the Parsi community in all fields. Tambola and Fun evenings to keep our community members mentally active and entertained are also being organised online. Recently Jiyo Parsi has even sponsored a Summer Camp for Parsi youth. Thus Team Jiyo Parsi has focussed on many aspects of
online Advocacy to help alleviate the burden faced by all due to the pandemic.

A recent online event that the Team is organizing is Sunday Special -Interactive sessions on the Zoom platform to address issues related to the pandemic like mental and physical well being, exercises and other issues. Professionals from different fields volunteer their time on Sunday mornings to share their knowledge and expertise with the viewers.

Dr. kersi chavda

For the first Sunday Special on 25th April 2021 we managed to have the Renowned Consulting Psychiatrist, Dr. Kersi Chavda share his views. Dr. Chavda spoke about how one can best deal with the current situation. There is a lot of negativity and anxiety with death and other losses being faced. He started the talk with what we earlier thought of the pandemic……working from home, kids not going to school, etc more time to ourselves, family bonding, but the reality has turned out to be something else. Working parents, childrens’ school classes, older generation living together now had to adjust to all being at home and they had to let go of their TV viewing time and other activities as the rest of the members were busy, and they couldn’t make any noise. Outside help was not allowed and so the onus of the housework too fell on the family members. What started as a novelty, family bonding and fun activity soon turned into a very frustrating exercise as there was no end in sight. The uncertainty of it all created a great deal of anguish. Dr. Chavda started a number of help lines for people to manage in times of the pandemic. After nearly 8-9 months when things became a little better, people started feeling a little optimistic and we saw glimpses of our lifestyles making a comeback. And then the 2nd wave struck….far deadlier than the 1st one. A lot more people were getting affected. Anxiety is the most important emotion which needed to be handled. Anxiety affects every member of the family. Over a period of time
this gets into shades of nagging. This in turn brings in depression. The online scenario was a blessing as we could have a modicum of normalcy and do a few things. A feeling of connectedness helps to react better and seek people out. This helps us go a long way to overcome depression. We also need to do sensible things and do something for ourselves. Take care of self so that we can look after others. Many tips were shared by Dr Chavda which could help people to deal with the present situation in a positive manner.

Dr. Mazda Turel

For the next Sunday Special on 9th May 2021 the guest speaker was Dr. Mazda Turel, a renowned neurosurgeon. Due to the lockdown many people are facing issues of pain and stiffness in the back and neck due to the long hours on laptops and mobiles. The talk focussed on many aspects relating to the structure of the brain, causes of headaches, types of headaches and which types of headaches need immediate medical attention. He shared the fact that infertility which does not responded to any kind of ART could be due to a tumour on the pituitary gland which controls hormones related to pregnancy. Red flags for strokes were discussed and the need for immediate medical attention in emergency ward of a hospital without wasting time even to consult a general physician was stressed upon. The other topic discussed was tips on how to improve memory and remain mentally sharp. Lowering weight and calorie intake, stress and saturated fats and at the same time increasing exercise like walking for 45 minutes daily, adequate restful sleep and Omega 3 fatty acids intake would help in improving overall quality of life. Neck and spine exercises were explained by Dr Turel. These were highly appreciated by the audience who requested for more details.

Dr. Danesh Chinoy

The next Sunday Special on 23rd May 2021 was presented by Dr. Danesh Chinoy who is a well-known Sports physiotherapist and Psychologist. He shared his knowledge and experience about health, diet and nutrition. He urged the viewers to take responsibility of their health in their own hands. If people continue over feeding themselves with wrong food and indulge in very little exercise one day their body will give up on them and multiple diseases could reduce the quality of their lives. He also shared breathing exercises to increase lung capacity which can help during the pandemic. Tips of diet and lifestyle
changes were also shared with the viewers.

These interactive sessions are appreciated by the viewers and assist them to deal with the current situation. Team Jiyo Parsi continues to plan and organize innovative sessions for all their enthusiastic viewers.’

Article by Pearl Mistry
Counsellor Jiyo Pars