Faiz Syed's Blog

Note: This blog is just me sharing my experience dealing with a Mental Health Condition. It contains minor information about PTSD which I found over the Internet while dealing with the problem. I'm no expert at Mental Health or providing any kind of advice about it. But if you or someone you know need any kind of help then you can  Click here . Or call the Suicide Helpline Number 1800-599-0019. To read more about Men's Mental Health, Click here. What is PTSD? For those who are unaware, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly known as PTSD is a Psychiatric Disorder that occurs in a person after he/she witnesses a Traumatic Event. It used to be known as "Shell Shock" and "Combat Fatigue" during World War Era, but it got termed as PTSD after it was confirmed that it happens not just to war veterans but everyone. When I say traumatic event, it could be anything depending on the person's experience. It could be events like war, natural di...

I’ll start by narrating three instances to explain things clearly. First instance was a random outing at the mall with my family. We went to a mall and shopped for a while, then watched a movie and had dinner. We spent around five hours outside and then left for home. However, towards the last hour, I started to feel uneasiness building up inside me. I felt zoned out. I just wanted to run back home. I didn’t want to be in that crowded place or have random people around me anymore. Second instance occurred at an Open Mic Event. To the ones unaware, I’m a part of a group that hosts Open Mics every month. We have performers coming in from everywhere to perform poetries, comedies, singing or any art form that can be performed on the stage. The event mostly is about three or four hour long. It mostly starts at about 02:00PM and ends by 06:00PM. We hosted an open mic on the first Sunday of this month. However, things went a bit different this time and the event stretched till about 7:...

“You guys know what’s a bigger joke than Politics in India? It’s Men’s Mental Health.” I said and people laughed their asses out. Nobody bothered to wait a second and give a thought about it. That goes for me as well… I used to be one of these people. I never cared about mental illness among men until I ended up suffering with it. Now, you might be expecting me to say that I’ve suffered from Depression and Anxiety like almost everyone on social media but no. That never happened with me. I suffered from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)  It is a mental/psychological condition people suffer after a traumatic event. I had gone through a mentally, emotionally and (to some extent) physically abusive relationship. I never felt depressed or even upset after I came out of it. In fact, I was happier and felt free. But I was left socially detached from everyone and have been dealing with trust issues. Some of the other symptoms include nervous breakdowns, insom...

Let's start with a simple example which could be relatable to most of you. The year was 2020 and you had planned an oversees trip with your friends. You've bought your best pair of clothing. You've made a list of things to do. You've read about all kinds of foods to eat and places to go... And then boom! Here's the Lockdown. The entire world is at home and you have to cancel your plans. It's obvious that you're disappointed and upset about your plan failing. Now let's look at it the other way around. You've planned your trip with your friends. You're all set but you've been hearing about this deadly virus slowly spreading across the world and various places going in quarantine. There's a thought LURKing in the back of your mind that you might need to cancel your plans and go into quarantine as well. So you alternately plan things that you'll do if you need to stay at home. In that way, if your outdoor plans fail, you'l...