For effective diagnosis of mental illness

The ‘Live Love Laugh Foundation’ unveiled a programme designed to assist General Physicians (GP) work effectively with their patients who might be going through anxiety or depression, which is titled ‘More Than Just Sad’.

“We believe the programme launched will assist the GP’s at the first level to provide the right diagnoses and guidance to patients who could be struggling to cope with mental health issues including depression, stress and anxiety,” said Deepika Padukone, Founder of The Live Love Laugh Foundation.

Dr KK Aggarwal, Honorary Secretary General IMA and President of HCFI said, "The IMA is pleased to provide The Live Love Laugh Foundation the platform to launch their programme for the medical community. We hope that through this initiative, we can help raise mass awareness about important health issues impacting the overall population and the criticality of prevention, timely diagnosis and treatment”.

Noting that the studies have shown that people living with chronic physical health conditions experience depression and anxiety at twice the rate of the general population, Dr Shyam Bhat, who is leading the initiative said, “Unfortunately, many GPs may have very limited resources in supporting people with mental health problems thereby preventing people with depression and anxiety from receiving appropriate care and treatment. The programme is our humble attempt to equip GPs with the awareness and resources to be in a better position to help their patients.”