Author: totem

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^{In this series I explain how to do some basic tweaks in our laptops/ mobiles / tablets, in order to make it more privacy oriented and ad free. These tips might be too obvious for those who are in tech, even I thought many of these are obvious until very recently I was made aware that many of us from the medical community are not aware these tools/ tweaks exists.}

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Part 1

Blocking ads system wide on Mobile phone / Tablets.

This is not about the time where you see an add on Insta or Youtube when you talk about something or the youtube ads itself.

This is about the ads you see inside the apps, banner ads, pop up ads, apps that appear when you try to close some apps etc.

There are a few ways in which we can do this. I’ll just highlight one method which I have found very useful.

1. Search for nextdns on your browser. This will lead you to nextdns.io a custom dns provider.
2. Click on Try it now. There is an option to try the service without signing up, however for saving custom settings an account is required. (free tier is more than enough for one device)
3. Signup with your email. (Don’t worry, they hardly send any Junk mails)

4. It will show the DNS service you are using currently.

5. Now go to Privacy tab . Nextdns automatically selects the NextDNS Ads & Trackers Blocklist as default. Which is a decent block list, however for better adblocking in mobile devices we need to enable few more blocklists.

6. Select Add a blocklist. in the list that pops up, add the following filters

AdGuard Mobile Ads filter
HaGeZi – Multi PRO++

7. Now blocking system level ads, select Native tracking protection – add respective brands.

8. That’s it. Basic adblocking setup is done. There are a few other options like specific content blocking, timeouts etc, which you can explore if you are interested.

9. Now how to apply the settings to your device?

Go back to the Set up tab, scroll down to find the Setup Guide

Based on your device, detailed explanation on how to set up nextdns is given there.

For Android

1. Go to Settings → Network & internet → Private DNS
   or Go to Settings → Search dns → Private DNS
2. Select the Private DNS provider hostname option.
3. Enter XXXXX.dns.nextdns.io and hit Save the first part of the address will be different to different people. which you can just copy and paste from the above page.
4. That’s it

Once you have setup correctly you’ll see the above screen.

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Originally posted on 28 September 2022

When I started my Psychiatry residency, a lot of things didn’t make any sense to me. We used to have case conferences where one of the residents presented a detailed workup of a patient. Discussions will go on. A big chunk of the discussions used to be about nailing the right diagnosis in accordance with ICD 10 or DSM 5. The funny part was each consultant used to have a different diagnosis for the same patient. When it comes to treatment these diagnostic labels didn’t really matter. We always used to treat the symptoms. My ADHD brain couldn’t handle this and in one of those case conferences I blurted out what’s the point of all this if we are ultimately treating the symptoms. Then I was made aware by the seniors and consultants that “ICD 10 is the Bible” of psychiatry and there is no way I’m gonna clear this residency without following that path.

from Kaplan & Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry

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Later in my residency, I came across a small paragraph in Kaplan & Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry ( which is a standard textbook we study during our Psychiatry residency.) It was about Integrative Psychiatry which highlighted the importance of treating the patient holistically rather than giving just diagnostic labels.

We have a hostile approach towards medical practitioners from different disciplines in Kerala. That goes both ways. We have psychiatry residents groups where if you say anything about alternative medicine you’ll get bashed. But at the same time, “Cure” is something we don’t talk about in psychiatry, Especially with regard to diseases that belong to the psychotic spectrum. It’s understandable why patients look for alternative options. The issue here is many practitioners from other disciplines whom patients go to don’t have a good understanding of psychiatric conditions. Many of them go in the line of Allopathic medicines are bad, it has side effects, you’ll become a zombie, Stop using those and we will give you our medications which don’t have any “Side effects”. Then patients have to choose between 2 options. Which most often results in patients having another problematic episode.

The idea of an Integrative Physician, someone who knows the limitations of their basic disciplines with a fair understanding of treatment options and the philosophy of other disciplines is the need of the hour. This is what The NIMHANS model of Integrative medicine is about.

I was lucky enough to get Post doctoral fellowship in Integrative Psychiatry at NIMHANS. Being an apex institute of mental health and neurosciences in India, the focus is given to integrative management of psychiatric and neurological diseases. We have an Integrative medicine OPD where renowned physicians from Modern medicine, Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy sit together and see the patients. They share their understanding of the patient’s conditions in their respective specialties. Together they propose an integrative management plan for the patients. I was surprised to see experienced physicians from other disciplines telling patients allopathic medicines are needed since they will help with managing the acute situations that patients came with. In the same way, senior psychiatrists were recommending patients lifestyle modifications, Yoga, and Ayurvedic treatment methods to manage the conditions in the long term. Being in this department for 3 months I have seen patients getting benefited from Yoga and Ayurvedic treatment methods, which they wouldn’t have if they have opted for just one of these disciplines.

“A shift from this-or-that to this-and-that is what integrative approach is about”

B.Holla et.al 2021

One of the main challenges I have noticed in implementing this sort of setting in Kerala was the tendency to associate ancient Indian practices like Ayurveda and Yoga with religion, political party, and nationalism. NIMHANS model has done a good job in decoupling Medicinal aspects of these disciplines from the whole political scene. State-of-the-art research done here on the Integrative approach gives the much sought scientific evidence.

Originally written on 24 October 2021

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The social media dopamine trap

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So this is how it works. You went for a trip, or you went out with friends. You took some pictures, some of which you took in order to remember the good times and some others just to show off to the world that you have done something cool. You come back home, relax and in a while you will be back to where you were before. Often alone, frustrated, sometimes more irritable than usual. Because wherever you go, what ever you do, you have to wake up tomorrow morning and get back to the same old life. There’s no escape from that.

Then you take out your lifeline. Your pocket buddy. You go to Instagram or Facebook or Whatsapp or whatever means to connect to the virtual world. You take those pictures. You start editing. Some familiar tweaks and your usual mountain/beach/sunrise/sunset/macro/party pics will look fantastic. Then you come up with some quotes those go with that. Or you search for some cool quotes. You find some popular hashtags to add. You tag all of your friends/pages and post.

Then you wait . . . .

There comes the magic sound. Dingggg!!!!

You got a new notification. Someone liked your photo. Someone else left some comments. You got that dopamine surge. The same high a substance dependent person gets when they use drugs. The same brain circuits. The same neuro transmitters.

Once the dopamine kicks in, you feel better. You feel connected. All of a sudden your life is interesting. Attention is the ultimate currency. Those likes, shares and comments tend to fill the void. You find yourself immersed in that alternate reality. It’s nice. It’s all rainbows and unicorns. You want to go there again.

What a wonderful world . . !

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Disclaimer – I’m not suggesting I’m immune to this or it’s wrong. This is merely an observation/intellectual masturbation. 😂