Are you ready to live mindfully, and love your life and everything you do?

Ask Dr Shefali...

I want to be a source of inspiration, motivation and guidance for anyone who wants to live nothing less than the most extraordinary life. As a Psychiatrist and Mindfulness Expert, I believe that the mind rules us. Do you think that events or people in your life make you feel the way you do?

Wrong! How your mind perceives events, thinks about them and then reacts to them, decides how you feel. Negative, pessimistic, stubborn and over idealistic thinking makes you sense painful emotions. This also pushes you to adverse life choices. With Mindfulness and Metacognition I guide you to think about your thinking. So you learn ‘what’ is wrong, ‘why’ it is so, and ‘how’ you can make it better, Because you deserve happiness and peace. And I am here to help you get it!

My Mindfulness Journey to Being a Psychiatrist and CBT Expert

My experience with emotional turmoil dates decades ago wherein I had friends, classmates and neighbors, who (now I know) were depressed. And I couldn’t help. Through the course of medical school and post graduate training to be a psychiatrist; I realized that medication and biological means to cure emotional problems are an insufficient solution. Patients and clients needed more. More time, attention, deliberation, consideration engagement, and involvement. And that is how I founded MindFrames, an initiative to make emotional and behavioral wellness available, accessible and attainable. A medical professional by qualification, I combine biological, psychological and social approaches to help you find your happiness and peace.

Cognition: Did You Know That Thoughts Influence Emotions?

We are, because we feel. Animals have emotions too, and they express them through the way they behave. Likewise for humans. But a critical difference is that we think, and then conclude how we feel. And we react accordingly. When we perceive danger, we are alerted to feel afraid and geared to face the threat or stressor, to either fight, or flee from the situation. But alas, life is not as ideal or simple, to allow that. And escape isn’t an ever available or feasible option. So we use the third response – fright, where we freeze. That’s when we lose logical judgment. And begin to think irrationally. And all of this is so automatic that we feel it is out of our control. And that we’re helpless and our situation is beyond repair.

Cognitive Appraisal: You Change How You Feel By Changing How You Think

All of us feel. Emotions are fundamentally adaptive resources in healthy humans. So, not feeling emotions is not desirable and is not the goal either. But feeling positive, helpful and effective emotions, is. Hence the vision, to empathize, listen, understand and help you share your emotions, to help carve a path to restoration and recovery. You could be anxious, depressed, phobic or paranoid, or simply a little let down, sad or frustrated. All the uniquely customized techniques help in accessing, activating, and productively processing negative emotions. And by using thought untwisting methods, your negative perceptions can get replaced with positive ones. And the outcome is a healthier, happier and wholesome existence.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) And Mindfulness Are For Everyone

As a qualified professional, I work with individuals, couples, and groups (including schools and corporates). I feel it’s mandatory to stay in sync with the art and science of health technology and human behavior. With that grounding, I take on several roles as a psychiatrist, therapist, guide, coach, mentor, trainer, blogger, author, and more. I believe that mindfulness can act as a key to personal and professional success – something I live through my own interest in yoga, meditation, cooking, creativity, and animal charity. Powered by empathy, willingness to listen, and expertise to make a difference, I hope to promote positive living, so that we can together prevent and combat psychological turmoil. This process is for everyone.