A mother who was on the brink of giving up after her daughter was diagnosed with low IQ and ADHD has penned her journey from non-acceptance to believing in her daughter’s strengths.
In her book, Death of a Caterpillar, psychotherapist Minu Budhia tells the story of how she went from being “counselled to doing the counselling”.
When her younger daughter was diagnosed with ADHD and low IQ at the age of three, the world fell apart for Budhia and she contemplated suicide, “not once but several times”, she told The Telegraph.
But she did not. She went for counselling instead and started life afresh with her daughter.
“With time, I realised she (my daughter) wasn’t my weakness but my strength, my inspiration, my pride and joy,” said Budhia.
“The awareness was low. As a mother, I would make her go through assessments because I was not accepting her condition. But I then realised that I am subjecting her to pressure and stress. If I am stressed she will be stressed and I cannot keep doing that,” Budhia said.
Death Of a Caterpillar was launched on Saturday evening.
Mayor Firhad Hakim, who was a guest, said that it was an opportunity for everyone to learn.
“We are here to learn. To learn what Minua Budhia has experienced in her lifetime. She had the guts to take up the challenge and do welfare not just for her child but for many other children,” Hakim said.
Minu Budhia is the founder of Caring Minds (Institute of Mental Health).
Minister Shashi Panja, who was at the programme, said: “We should come forward and hand hold not just with sympathy but with empathy.”
Industrialist Sanjay Budhia said the message that has to be sent out is that the stigma associated with mental health conditions should go.
Also present on the occasion were minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhy, General Officer Commanding-in-chief, Eastern Command, Lt General R.P. Kalita, and Jadavpur University vice-chancellor Suranjan Das.
The memoir, Minu Budhia said, was not just for parents of special children but for all parents.
“There are one or two children nowadays and there is tremendous pressure on the children from their parents, teachers and peers. There is an expectation that they would excel in whatever they do and that impacts the mental health of children,” she said.
The book contains self-help tips, gleaned from the author’s professional experience as a psychotherapist and counsellor.
