Tune in to this insightful podcast with author Mandeep S. Jalota as he discusses his empowering book, "Reset Your Mind, Body, and Spirit: A Survivor’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety and Depression." Gain valuable insights, tips, and inspiration to navigate the journey towards mental well-being. In collaboration with OneIndia.
Mandeep S. Jalota's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mandeep.jalota
Link to buy the Book 'Reset Your Mind, Body and Spirit: A Survivor’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety and Depression': https://amzn.eu/d/3qFgHsR
#Podcast #MandeepSJalota #Anxiety #Depression #AnxirtyDepression #MentalHealth #MentalHealthIssues #OneindiaNews
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Mandeep S. Jalota's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mandeep.jalota
Link to buy the Book 'Reset Your Mind, Body and Spirit: A Survivor’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety and Depression': https://amzn.eu/d/3qFgHsR
#Podcast #MandeepSJalota #Anxiety #Depression #AnxirtyDepression #MentalHealth #MentalHealthIssues #OneindiaNews
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome everyone to this special podcast on One India News. I am your host,
00:05 Arushi Ranjan, and today we have a distinguished guest with us, Mr. Mandeep S. Jalota, an accomplished
00:12 Indian Revenue Service officer currently serving as the Joint Commissioner of GST in Mumbai.
00:18 Beyond his professional achievements, Mr. Jalota is also a beacon of inspiration in the realm of
00:25 mental health advocacy. He has written a book, Reset Your Mind, Body and Spirit, a Survivor's
00:32 Guide to Overcoming Anxiety and Depression. We will discuss in depth about mental health today
00:37 with Mr. Jalota himself. Welcome Mr. Jalota, it's truly an honour to have you here with us today.
00:42 Thank you ma'am for giving me this platform. Thank you.
00:46 So your book, Reset Your Mind, Body and Spirit, provides a deeply personal account of your
00:51 struggles with anxiety and depression. I just wanted to know how did you get the motivation
00:56 to share your personal struggle? Where did you get the motivation from to write this book?
01:03 Ma'am, this is like a book. It is about my own struggle also and it is also a struggle of other
01:11 people who are my co-patients, so to say. So I have been with them and I have been suffering
01:18 from depression since 2009. So when we suffer from depression and anxiety issues and we go to the
01:26 doctors and the only thing that I was finding out is that they just put you on medicine. So
01:32 can there be some alternative ways or not? So that was my inspiration and the other thing was
01:37 writing a book is that when we get into some trouble and we don't get out of it, it is something
01:42 like spiralling down towards some depression and anxiety and you are not coming up. So in these
01:47 things you don't have a good literature available in the market which actually tells you about how
01:55 to come out of those things in a polite and practical way. Like the people used to say
01:58 it is all in the mind. But later on I have found out it is actually not in the mind.
02:03 It is lying somewhere else. So like the Ayurveda says and the Hippocrates says,
02:07 it is all lying in the gut somewhere. So actually I didn't believe in these things before but later
02:14 on I realized and I came out of medicine which was going on for the last 13-14 years on and off
02:22 and it was a heavy doses type for depression. But when I changed my diet and changed my outlook
02:30 or 2-3 things I have done. So I came out of the medicine and I have been on medicine for the last
02:37 2 and a half years. It was so good. So there is actually a lack of knowledge among the patients
02:45 and also there is some lack of knowledge about our alternative medicine and other ways in which
02:52 we can tackle it and come out of it. Rather than just becoming always taking on medicine and
02:58 medicine and how long it can go. When you are taking a medicine for example, you are just going
03:03 to hit certain other organs also. Like for example I was on some certain medicine, I won't name that,
03:08 but when I used to have my only blood checkups or other organ checkups, it used to hit my liver. So
03:15 like it was something like a sort of inspiration or disgusting thing where I should come out of it
03:20 now. It has been so long years. So that was the inspiration that made me to write a book and want
03:26 to speak on it so that people should come to know that it is very easily possible that you can get
03:34 out of this spiraling loop out of it. That was great. It really takes courage to share your
03:41 personal story with the world. That's great what you have done Mr. Jalota. So how can our youth
03:46 benefit from this book because depression, anxiety, we are getting to see a lot of it these days.
03:52 When we actually come to the basics, we will actually realize that depression and anxiety
04:04 is system driven. System driven means it is a society somewhere,
04:10 our modern structure of society, way of functioning, way of living,
04:16 which is taking us towards depression and anxiety. See when you just make it out that it is all in
04:24 the mind, it is actually not there. For example, you are a person who is in offices and you don't
04:35 move a lot, physically don't move a lot. Yes. But actually, you have inherited that body from
04:43 your parents. Parents did it from their parents and we have been inheriting this body for so long,
04:48 for millions of years. So this body of ours is actually a body of a hunter and gatherer largely
04:54 because we spend most of our time in the hunting and gathering and then from the last 10 to 20,000
05:00 years ago, we landed up in agriculture and settled far and tight. So our body needs to work, but we
05:08 are not doing it. For the last 20, 30, 40 years, we are not working. So our neurotransmitters,
05:13 hormones, and the structure of the gut, the biodiversity of the microbiota, it has now
05:20 changed a lot. So when this is changing, we are actually not doing it, but we are inheriting the
05:24 body of a hunter and gatherer in society, people, but we are not doing anything with that. So that
05:29 is why there is a mismatch between what the body needs to do and what we actually were doing. That
05:34 is the thing where there is a gap. So actually the system is such, today's system, that we are
05:40 not performing with this body what we intended to do. So that is the one point, we are not doing
05:46 good exercises, we are not taking as appropriate diet or a diverse diet, which we used to take
05:51 in the initial times. So that is one of the biggest loopholes that is there in the society.
05:56 When we plug into this thing, and when we know this thing that we need to diversify our diet,
06:00 or we need to perform actions or all kinds of other things, like there are certain diets which
06:06 are very depressing type of diets, but we consider it to be very normal in today's society.
06:11 Okay, like keto kind of diets you are talking about, right?
06:14 Keto is a way in which some people, they tend to lose weight. I think that is what I think.
06:22 Yeah, but that is also a type of diet which is very harsh on your body just to lose the weight.
06:30 Yeah, that is harsh. Another thing is, I will pinpoint those things actually, two,
06:36 three things are there, which are very depressing type of things. But actually we don't consider
06:41 that to be depressing diet. And it is very normal in our everyday eating habits.
06:47 Yes, yes, sir, go on.
06:50 Suppose, see, now today what we are eating is, there are two kinds of fibers that we are eating
06:57 in today's, in kitchens we have, or in kitchens on the fast food. What is that? That is wheat and
07:04 rice. You know that? It is just wheat and rice. You just eat chapatis or you eat burgers or you
07:10 eat this and that kind of thing. It is only wheat and rice actually which you are intaking. But the
07:16 body which you are inheriting from a hunter and gatherer, that has not, it is just not our bodies,
07:23 but in us, there are so many, lot of bacteria there. There are millions to millions of
07:29 bacteria in our body which also need this diet for them to prosper. There are good bacteria,
07:37 there are bad bacteria. And we are giving them only two kinds of fiber to digest. So that is an
07:43 issue. The bacteria, when it is more diverse and the bacteria which is more in diversity and better
07:49 in population in our body, you know that there is a neurotransmitter which makes us feel good,
07:56 that is a feel good neurotransmitter. That is actually also produced by a certain kind of
08:02 a bacteria in our gut. If we do not have enough population for the production of the bacteria,
08:09 then what will happen to us? We will slip towards depression, anxiety, OCDs and other kinds of
08:17 things. So what is happening is that. So your book rightly mentions in the subtitles,
08:22 wonder diet for a happy brain. That is what you just explained very well. I was asking,
08:28 is this common to be depressed and feel low? Is it common in our daily life that we get depressed
08:38 or feel low? And if someone around us is feeling like this in society, like we see some people
08:45 depressed, sitting alone and thinking about something and we know they need our help.
08:50 Can we go and help that person without offending that person?
09:02 This is a very good and a curious question. Something, see, when I wrote my book and just
09:11 for the sake of courtesy, I sometimes present my book to someone, to a senior or to a good person.
09:18 So what happens is that they say, why are you giving this book to me? It is about anxiety and
09:22 depression. They get surprised. That's what I said without offending the person. Yeah, and I won't
09:29 even tell that there are some good celebrities there. So first they said that yes, we will
09:36 write, it's a good book about this and that depression and anxiety. But just at the nick
09:43 of the time, they said, no, they didn't say anything, but they backed off because no one wants to
09:49 join their name with this very sensitive issue of depression and anxiety. Now, your first question
09:56 is, it is okay to be with this depressed and low? It is very okay, madam. It is very okay because
10:06 we are human beings and emotions are there. That's emotions only which makes us human beings.
10:12 So at the root of being a human is emotions. But there is a when catch here. For example,
10:20 if one feels depressed or anxious or any other kind of a mental ailment, but if after even after
10:26 a considerable lapse of time, if he doesn't return back to his normal position, normal situation,
10:33 normal emotion, after suppose if he's sad, now he's sad, he's sad and sad. And for the last
10:38 six months, he's sad. There's something wrong with that. After one year, he's still sad. This
10:43 is something wrong. And he's getting more sad. This is wrong. Either you return or bounce back
10:48 to the normal situation, that's good. But it should also not be like this. You at the one
10:53 time, you were very happy in the morning and in the evening you were very depressed. So it's
10:58 sort of a bipolar. So there shouldn't be so many oscillations. And if you feel depressed,
11:06 then you should return after a while. For example, there is a death of some loved one in the family.
11:13 So after six months or after one year, one is not returning back to the normal situation,
11:18 then there is a problem and he needs to go to a medical professional or he needs to get some kind
11:22 of a... By medical professional, do you mean psychiatrist? First line is to go to the
11:30 counsellors. If they are not able to solve the problem, they will automatically refer you to
11:37 the psychiatrist and they will put you on the medicines. Okay. So first person to go when you
11:42 are depressed is a counsellor and then a psychiatrist, the second one. Yes, that should
11:48 be the best way to do certain things. These kind of things. Yes. Okay. How can we help? If I see a
11:56 person sitting alone, depressed, not talking to anyone, there is something wrong with that person.
12:02 So as an individual, how can I go and help that person without offending him or her?
12:09 Just like, just give that person, give him or her a company. Let's see how he
12:18 reacts about it. So just going and saying, are you like feeling bad or something, just give that
12:26 person company. That's what you're trying to say. Yeah, give that person a company. But here I would
12:32 like to differentiate between the two kinds of persons here. One is kind of psychotic patients
12:39 and one is kind of a neurotic patients. Neurotic patients, they know themselves, they have a problem
12:44 and they need some kind of a help or a company or a counselling or some doctor. They know themselves
12:50 that their heart is beating at a higher rate or they feel so anxious or they are feeling OCD type
12:56 of things like the compulsions to do, like washing their hands. They know it. And other are the
13:01 psychotic. There is a psychosis. Psychosis, these people, they do not know that they have a problem.
13:06 They say, no, you have a problem if you pinpoint this thing to me. That's the thing. Okay.
13:11 Now, in these kind of patients, you cannot help them. Here the family comes and these families,
13:17 if they feel like, they put him to some hospital there.
13:25 So here you have to differentiate. You must have seen many people
13:36 who are saying the opposite of what they are saying.
13:38 They themselves know. They don't know that we are doing something wrong.
13:41 They feel that they are doing right and the whole world is doing wrong.
13:44 So these are the two kinds of things that we should know. As a normal people, we should
13:50 be able to read such kind of texts there. I have written all kinds of things there.
13:54 Yes.
13:55 So we know that it is not normal.
13:58 You have explained it very logically. What are psychotic people and what are,
14:04 what did you say the second word?
14:07 Neurotic.
14:08 Neurotic. Yes, very logical. So, sir, your background is in computer science and you
14:15 have a successful career in Indian revenue services. So, is there any connection between
14:20 your professional life and your personal battles, anxiety or depression? Because if we are mentally
14:26 fine, we will be physically fine. And if we are physically fine, we will be able to work properly.
14:32 Whether you go to office, whether you go to college, whether you go to school,
14:37 you need to be mentally fit to work in your office or college or anywhere.
14:42 So what would you like to say on this? How do you connect this professional life with personal battles?
14:47 Like, this is personal at the personal level. I am married and the wife is very cooperative
14:56 in these things. And I don't think that it has hit actually my performance sort of level there.
15:02 But actually there was like, always being low in energy, being in chronic fatigue and being anxious
15:09 the most. For example, you go to catch some flight, you go to two, three times you go to the washroom.
15:16 This is what was happening with me. But now it is not there. So before a meeting, you are too anxious.
15:22 Now it is not there. Whatever the boss says, taking seriously, but it doesn't matter much.
15:28 Now I think more logically rather than emotionally or giving over reactions. So that is a sort of a
15:34 moderation or the stabilization in the mood that has come, which was not there from the last
15:40 19-20 years. So it is a more stable. Sometimes I feel like when there is some very bad
15:48 situation or when there is a very good situation, my mood actually remains at the stable point.
15:55 It's normal, not very high, not very low. And that is a good positive side that I have come across.
16:00 You know, that's a good thing. And personally, even when you say the professional, I don't think it has
16:05 I knew this thing that it could affect my performance, but I have been a good performer at
16:10 the job also. But obviously, because I knew this thing and I was managing it with the medicines,
16:15 but it was good. But the thing is, the only struggle that I had, that was to come out of
16:21 medicine. Because when you go on a medicine, you become OK. But when under the guidance of the
16:26 doctor, you leave the medicine and after six months you land up with the same bad situation,
16:31 you still start feeling anxious again. No, it was the medicine that was working wonder in me.
16:36 Now, after six months, after leaving the medicine, we are in the same position. So the biggest thing
16:40 that I think that I have achieved is to become, to go off the medicine. It is just not only going
16:47 off the medicines or psychiatric things. I was facing other difficulties like ulcerative colitis,
16:52 ulcers in the colon, everyone's skin problem was there. When I changed the night, something,
16:57 it worked like wonder. I had three or four medical issues. They all disappeared and nothing is there
17:03 now. Now it means like what? Was there a problem with me or with the doctor who could not identify
17:11 and prescribe me that you should eat this thing, you should not eat this thing. But actually,
17:15 now where I pinpoint is, actually there is a lack of awareness and literature about the food. When
17:21 you know that this food is going to create problem in the long run, you see the things,
17:28 you see a magical things happens when you know what the food is about. Okay, so food plays and
17:33 diet plays a very important role in mental health. Okay, so you know what Mr. Jalota, these days,
17:40 the youth, people, they consider even little panic attacks or sadness in their life as depression.
17:48 Depression or anxiety is a big word to give a small life problem. We all have problems in
17:56 our life. We get sad. But that is not depression and anxiety. We can't call it depression.
18:05 So what do you want to tell those people or what's the conclusion of this thing?
18:16 What do you want to say on this? Taking it very positively,
18:20 depression, if people are calling small things as depression, then let it be because depression
18:25 actually medically, when it is called depression, there are certain parameters on which a doctor
18:31 classifies it as medical or a clinical depression. But when we say generally that depression has
18:37 become a normal word right now. But when it becomes a normal word, but it is also a good
18:41 thing in the sense that people now have started discovering or identifying the thing that there
18:45 is something wrong. But whether it is a very big thing wrong or a very small thing wrong.
18:50 So the people have started identifying it as a mental issue. And in the long run,
18:54 the people will become more aware about this depression or other mental ailment issues.
18:59 But I think depression, that is what I have told initially, these kinds of things are there when
19:10 you bounce back, then it's okay. When you don't bounce back, go to a counselor or a psychiatrist.
19:17 That's a great suggestion, sir. Lastly, before we end this, what are your suggestions to tackle
19:24 anxiety and depression in the early stage only?
19:27 We were talking about the problems we consider depression and anxiety. So if we feel that we are facing anxiety and we are going on that way,
19:40 then how can we end it in the early stage so that it does not reach the worst level and there is no impact in our life?
19:49 The thing is that we can do a few things in this. First of all, when we start with things like anxiety, depression, we don't identify it.
19:59 Suppose something starts working and it goes up to 10 to 15 years. My doctor, a psychiatrist, he told me,
20:07 "Mandeep, what is the problem with the psychiatric patients is that they don't come to us for 10-20 years.
20:12 They don't want to face us or they don't treat their symptoms as depressive or anxious or any other kind of mental ailment issues.
20:19 So, that thing is fully formed, it is cooked and when it comes to a mature state, then the people come to us.
20:24 People don't know the first thing. First, they don't know that they have a problem.
20:28 But if we see, if we say that now what are the pre-emptive issues that can be taken,
20:36 the thing is that our body that we have inherited from hunting and gathering or the agricultural society.
20:44 So, the physical work that we can do with it, that is one. The second thing is that we need to have a diverse diet.
20:50 We cannot only stay on wheat and rice or milk. So, we have to diversify this and bring it to a very low level from our kitchen.
20:59 When I wrote the book and then gave it to someone, a doctor in Mauritius, he is a good friend of mine.
21:04 He told me, "Mandeep, while reading your book, he was doing proofreading type of concepts,
21:10 he is a doctor, but I am not a doctor by profession. He was looking at the thing, he said that there was one suggestion there,
21:15 that eating maida and wheat increases the depressive tendencies of many people, they have fluctuations.
21:22 Then he said that I also had these problems and I had identified this thing that I have mood swings after 2-3 days.
21:31 I didn't understand why this was happening, but after reading your book, I found out that in our hospital,
21:37 and the mess there, when they give us food, there is a lot of maida in it.
21:41 After 2-3 days, I eat a particular diet. As soon as I eat, I feel low moods for 12-24 hours.
21:48 So, now I identified that there is something wrong with the maida. When the maida is there, I feel low after 2-3 days.
21:54 But I didn't have this connection before. So, this maida and this gluten, whether you are gluten sensitive or not,
22:03 but you have to be very aware, it is something like a toxic relationship. Whether you have a spouse or a girlfriend, boyfriend,
22:12 in the same way, it is something like it will make dependent upon you and it will try to exploit you.
22:18 This is what the gluten is doing. The gluten is going into the blood and it is hitting, like any other organ,
22:24 it may be hitting your kidneys, it may be hitting your joints, it may be hitting your mind or whatever.
22:30 So, we need to diversify our diet, like going back to the old diet, like what is called as Motanaj.
22:38 Then when we start going towards that, then it will be okay. Then the symptoms will start to go away.
22:43 I hope that was helpful to our listeners. Before we end, quickly can you tell us, your book,
22:50 Reset Your Mind, Body and Spirit, where can we get it online or offline and can you please share your social media handles for our listeners?
22:59 My name is Mandeep Jalota and it can be easily reached on Facebook or Instagram.
23:06 At the same time, my book is available in almost all the cities, in the big bookstores,
23:13 like crosswords and relays and especially at the airport, it is there.
23:17 Obviously, when you are sitting at home, you can order this book from Amazon also.
23:21 Just type the name, Reset Your Mind, Body and Spirit. We will give the links in the description.
23:25 Thank you so much, Mr. Mandeep S. Jalota for joining us today.
23:30 We must continue to have open conversations about mental health, depression and anxiety.
23:36 And I appreciate your opportunity to contribute to this important topic, which definitely needs to be discussed.
23:43 I hope it was helpful for the audience, for the listeners. Thank you so much for joining in.
23:48 Thank you so much, ma'am. Thank you so much.
23:50 Thank you.