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Does it worry you that a metal tube, filled with highly inflammable fuel and hundreds of people is hurling through the skies?

Does this fear prevent you from stepping on an aeroplane? Or does it create extreme anxiety and fear in your mind when your loved ones are riding them?

How at 10,000 meters above the ground at un-imaginable speeds these aeroplanes are crisscrossing the skies without hitting one another?

This fear is in your mind, and meeting an experienced psychologist will resolve this problem.

Very recently an extremely successful businessman was unwilling to send his child overseas to study. He was suffering from this irrational fear of flying. With the date of travel coming closer the family approached me to help resolve his fear. So the son could leave in time before college started. I am happy to say that not only did the son leave for college in time, the businessman along with his wife also travelled with the son.

Below are seven simple tips to implement in your life, if you are scared to fly:

Fake it:

There is excellent saying fake it, till you make it keep pretending that you aren’t scared to flying, until the time that you aren’t scared to fly in an aeroplane.

Memorize the facts:

Learn the facts about aeroplane safety, today flying are the safest form of transport, it much safer than the road, rail or ship.

Drink a wine or pop a sleeping pill:

This will relax you and put your mind at ease

Sit in the front of the plane:

It is the turbulence in the flight that causes in-flight panic, the ride in the front of the plane is much smoother

Inform relevant people:

Tell the check-in counter staff, the air hostess and the passengers sitting next to you that you are scared of flying.There is no shame in doing so, and they will help you handle this fear. You don’t have to be loud about it, just convey the message softly

Stay distracted:

Watch a movie, listen to music, read a book, work on your laptop, if your mind is busy, you won’t have time to have anxiety

Rubber band trick:

Wear a rubber band around your wrist, every time you have an anxiety attack on the flight snap the band on your wrist. The pain will distract you from the fear and bring you back to reality.

If you or someone you know has a fear of flying, meet an experienced psychologist.  If required the psychologist may accompany you on the flight to provide in-flight counseling to address the fear of flying.

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; but it’s not the same as professionally-trained and an experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need – Dr. Prerna Kohli.”

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides counselling on fear and anxiety

 Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata, ain’t no passing craze
It means no worries for the rest of your days, yeah, sing it, kid
It’s our problem-free philosophy, Hakuna Matata

Hakuna Matata
Hakuna Matata

The “The Lion King” a Walt Disney production

it  is a Swahili phrase that literally translates into English as have no worries. Firstly, Swahili is the mother tongue of the Swahili people. It is spoken by various communities living in the African Great lakes regions including countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique and Congo. So, The phrase shot into popular culture with the song by the pop group of the 1980s Boney M their song “Jambo – Hakuna Matata”, it was reinforced into pop culture from the film The Lion King in 1994. Simba the lead character in the movie is taught by his mentors to Hakuna Matata, that is not to have worries and live in the present, and forget his troubled past. 

Leave behind your worries and live in the present, as did Simba. So, Simba has a troubled past where his father Mustafa is killed by his younger brother Scar, and Simba is led to believe that he is responsible for his father’s death. Thus, post a fierce battle young Simba is able to regain his legacy and position as the leader of his tribe and kingdom.  If Simba could do it, so can you.

This Swahili phrase needs to be a part of your of your life.

As an experiment watch the Disney movie The Lion King and adopt the philosophy Hakuna Matata in your life.

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need – Dr. Prerna Kohli.”

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and also a Holistic Practitioner. Hence, She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Hence, Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides to those seeking happiness in their life.

Keep a pet, if you already own a pet spend time with it!

Owning a pet, especially a dog is the happiest being you can have. They become the happiest being when you return home from work, school or even a few minutes walk outside. They exhibit pure and selfless love, and they become the source of your happiness.

A pet is a serious responsibility, a dog will generally live for 8-15 years, require meals at least three times a day, bathing, grooming, vet visits, frequent walks and occasional accidents in the house that need to be addressed, all of these add up to commitments and expenses. There is a clear return on investment (ROI) on the time and money that you spend on your pet. Owning a pet induces a series of healthy behaviours, such as the sense of responsibility for another life, and the frequent exercise. Owning a pet reduces blood pressure and stress and it has been scientifically proven that pet owners generally are healthier and live longer and more enriched lives. The American Heart Association has linked dog ownership with healthier lifestyles and longer lives.

Owning either a cat or a dog has therapeutic benefits, as they full fill one of the greatest needs of a human being, that being the need to be touched.

Quoting the American Heart Association, studies have shown that:

Pet owners are less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets

People with pets have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those without pets.

Playing with a pet can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine, which calm and relax.

Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels (indicators of heart disease) than those without pets.

Heart attack patients with pets survive longer than those without.

Pet owners over age 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets.

In Hinduism feeding a dog brings good karma, and feeding a black dog wards off evil.

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India.

Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” 
― John Lennon

Psychologist Robert Zajnoc has published one of the most significant scientific papers correlating happiness with smiling, in his experiment subjects were made to repeatedly repeat the vowel “E” and “U”. Enunciating the vowel E stretches the lips toward the ears making a smile while the vowel U makes the lips pout. Subjects felt happier saying the vowel E. Also, this experiment has been done with the subjects holds a pen in the mouth at a 90-degree angle to their lips resulting in pouting or at 180 degrees to their lips resulting in a smile. Thus, Even a forced smile makes you feel happier.

Smiling is contagious!

A smiling person is always more welcome in a group, look at a group photograph, the smiling person always looks more attractive, and happier. Smiling releases endorphins those brain chemicals that relieve pain, stress and result in happiness.

Also, Smiling and frowning are both contagious, smiling people are considered more attractive, and attract others, who follow their lead of smiling.

Thus, Smiling changes your mood and tricks your body into feeling happier. Hence, Practice smiling, it is one of the best medicines to make your happier. So, Smiling people are perceived to be more confident, and more successful in the workplace.

Also, Smiling makes you look younger than your actual years. Thus, it pulls your muscles and gives you an instant face-lift, making you look younger. As you stand in front of the mirror and you practice smiling make sure it is a “real” smile, that makes your eyes twinkle and your eyes squish. Thus, Practice smiling with your eyes.

Lastly, Learn to forgive and smile, it will make you a happier person. Someone cut you off in the line, forgive them mentally as they know no better, and smile, it will make you feel better.

Charles Darwin the father of the theory of evolution said  in 1872 about smiling “Even the simulation of an emotion tends to arouse it in our minds”. According to Ron Gutman well known Stanford University alumni and research on smiling articulates that smiling releases more endorphins than chocolates, according to Gutman one smile releases more endorphins than 2000 bars of chocolates. I am sure your waistline will thank you for smiling!

For a simple experiment, take a deep breath, and say the vowel “E” as you release your breath. Repeat this exercise ten times, and note your emotions after you are done.

“I will never understand the all the good that a simple smile can accomplish”

Mother Theresa

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Child Psychologist in India and provides counselling to both adults and children.

Every parent’s desire is to raise children who grow up to be healthy, loving, and confident adults. The right seeds need to be planted early enough in life, so as to avoid emotionally unbalanced adults. I believe, that these seven rules of raising healthy children will  defininately result in well balanced adults.

Allow freedom of information.

For a family to be healthy, allow the freedom of information, allow your children to partake in age appropriate family discussions, please don’t hide facts and information from them. This leads to open sharing of ideas, and a strong bond between parents and children.

Show your children respect.

You children aren’t your possessions. Treat them like the young people that they are. Talk to them with respect and dignity, and value their inputs and suggestions. Communication is about listening, you don’t have to agree with what you say, but you definitely need to listen to them.

Publicly and privately appreciate their successes, when they fail, listen to them, suggest ways of recovering from failure.

Accept your children’s feelings.

Accept that your child is going to have feelings of anger, joy, and sadness, among other feelings. Allow them to freely express them. Parents who overly discipline their children and deny their children the right to express their feelings raise emotionally deficit adults. Habits learnt in childhood manifest in adulthood.

Respect your children’s boundaries.

Respecting your child’s thoughts, dreams, and feelings is a simple way to respect the parent child boundaries.  Any abuse whether, physical, verbal or emotional attacks theese boundaries. Simple things like monitoring their emails, SMS, WhatsApp chats, reading their diary or spying on them via their friends is not respecting their boundaries.

Allow children age-appropriate decisions, responsibility, and independence.

Teaching your children to make age-appropriate decisions, responsibility and independence can be done by teaching fiscal responsibility and financial decision making to them by giving them appropriate pocket money, allowing them to spend their money as they deem fit. Also, Allow them to independently spend the money they receive as gifts. But, Draw lines, don’t overindulge financially. Hence, Children need support in learning how to problem-solve and make decisions. Parents usually err on one extreme or the other. Thus, Many children must take on adult responsibilities too young and never learn to receive or rely on anyone. Some children are controlled or pampered, become dependent and don’t learn to make their own choices, while others are given unlimited freedom without guidance.

Have reasonable, predictable, humane rules and punishments.

Homes necessarily need rules to function effectively. Thus, no rules or rules that are too harsh are both detrimental to the rounded personality development of children. Hence, rules need to be safe, predictable and fair. When rules are unpredictable, harsh or not consistent, children learn to distrust their elders, and authority. Both the parents need to be consistent and united on the rules.

Nurture your children.

Nurture your children, nurturing is not indulging in toys and gifts, that is spoiling them. Thus, Loving and nurturing your children is spending quality time, listening to them with love and affection. Also, this is what makes them grow into well balanced, and confident adults.

Understand that one of our most important jobs as parents is to stay loving and separate from our children. We do this by clearly defining our principles, staying in our role as a parent, and sticking to our bottom lines.

About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016)from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Child Psychologist in India and provides both parents and children counselling on raising well rounded children.

  Never estimate the power of smell to make you happy. That bottle of perfume or cologne that you are saving for special occasions needs to be used every day. Remember that even perfumes have an expiry, with time, they lose their fragrance, it is much better to use it on a daily basis than to have to throw it away become it lost it fragrance.

Firstly, Just do a simple experiment to realize the importance of smell to make you feel happier, spend a

few moments near and sewage plant, or at any other source of the unpleasant smell, and then contrast this smell with a few minutes in a bakery. Which is a happier moment, where did you feel happier?  Pleasant smells create a feeling of well being and happiness.

Science has shown that there are a few smells that promote happiness some of these are

• Baking, the smell of bread or cake baking. It is believed that the aroma of vanilla in the cake baking in the oven enhances happiness

• Lavender, the smell associated with grandmothers, creates a sense of security and happiness

• Coffee, there is happiness in a simple cup of coffee

The Journal of Social Psychology has published scientific research that establishes the correlation between happiness and smell. So, their experiment indicated that pleasant aroma made people twenty-five percent happier. It is this happiness that is easy to garner.

Decide for yourself which smell makes you happier, is it vanilla or lemongrass or lavender? I have a simple trick that I can share with you, take an empty spray bottle, and fill it with water and a few drops of your favourite aroma oil, liberally spray this around your house. Use incense sticks, aroma oil burners and fill your home with pleasant smells that give you positive memories.

As India celebrates it’s Republic Day on January 26, there is a feeling of joy and happiness in the air. Yet there are many cynical individuals who complain about the fact that after so many years of independence, India continues to struggle with corruption, low life expectancy, illiteracy and other problems.

Like many other families, my forefathers left everything thing they owned in what is now Pakistan at the time of patriotic and immigrated to India with nothing but their desire to live in India, in a secular country. They worked hard and rebuilt their lives once again. Psychologically speaking it is very important to be patriotic

Psychologically speaking it is very important to be patriotic but what is patriotism? Patriotism can be defined as the love and loyalty that we feel towards the country one lives in.

“Patriotism is necessary to preserve and protect the nation as it currently exists.”

Without our roots without our nation, we are nobody, refugees leave their homeland, those who aren’t patriotic end up being emotional refugees in their own land.

Being patriotic provides an anchor, and sense of belonging and ownership.

Being patriotic doesn’t mean to blindly love their country and not to see the flaws and the areas of improvement. But to love one’s country and strive to fix the imperfections.

On this occasion of Republic Day, be proud to be patriotic. Thus, It gives a sense of euphoria, and joy and well being. Dress for the occasion, celebrate with loved ones and be joyous to be living in an independent India, many surrendered their lives so you and I can live in an Independent India.

Jai Hind!

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

Dr. Kohli believes that “You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; but it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need.”

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides families, individuals, parents and children counselling on being happy.

Psychological Benefits of Exercise is the value of exercise on the body is well known, you can lose weight, or if you so desire you can gain weight, you lose fat, you can gain muscle, and your body appears to look fitter and healthier, earning you admiration and attention.

What is not well known is the psychological benefits of exercise. Below is a brief list of the psychological benefits on your mind of exercise:

• The mood gets enhanced
• Stress reduction, and the ability to handle stress better
• Self-esteem improves, this happens because of the sense of achievement of being able to do something such as 100 push-ups or running for 26 kilometers, also as the body becomes fitter the feeling of well-being enhances
• The joy and positivity of increased physical fitness
• Enhanced self-worth
• Improved body image
• Increase in energy to be able to do day to day tasks
• Confidence increase

Depression and feelings of being low are reduced by exercising. So exercise regularly for 10 weeks (at least 3-5 times each week) to see the symptoms of depression reduce drastically. Research has shown that regular exercise can help give your mood a boost. Several recent studies suggest that; whether you lift weights or go for a run, working out can help reduce anxiety and improve overall mental health. So if you are feeling low, depressed, sad or just unhappy go for a brisk walk, jog or lift some weights.

It is found that; bodybuilders, and fitness experts, tend to abuse their body less with drugs and alcohol compared to the general public. They also tend to eat healthier. But, the moment an individual starts to indulge in steroids to enhance their muscle growth, a new set of psychological problems arise. Around poor body image and low self-esteem, which need to be addressed.

Interestingly, the general public has this belief that a man or a woman with a “gym” body has lower IQ  and are dismissive of their intellectual capabilities, while in fact, the reverse is most likely true. Research shows that cardiovascular exercise can increase brain cells, and a tough workout with weights increases a brain protein associated with decision making, higher thinking, and learning. Research also shows that working increases the memory power of the brain.

Post-exercise the individual is rewarded by a hormone called dopamine, the reward hormone, and dopamine provides a natural high, therefore reducing or eliminating the need to do illegal drugs or alcohol.

Gym goers sleep well, hence are less addicted to sleeping pills, and are less restless at night and sleep well.

Working out and going to the gym, whether for cardio or weights, will have positive effects far beyond the gym and looking better with or without your clothes on. Thus, by working out you can have an increase in self-confidence, positive mind frame and a smart thinking. There is no reason for not exercising on a regular basis.

More about Dr. Kohli

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

Dr. Kohli believes that “You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you, but it’s not the same as a professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need.”

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness, and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with a solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India with over 20 years of experience and has been providing families, individuals, parents and children counseling on being happy.

A lot of people may hear you, but there would be few who would listen. The hearing is kind of a technical process. Listening, on the other hand, is being receptive to other person’s word and being in sync with their emotions as well. When you are a good listener, it propagates visceral cohesion. You could be there by just following these golden rules!

Be approachable

Keep your doors always open. You do not have to take it literally. Rather it means that one should be warm and kind enough to make the other person at ease. This helps the latter to come out of the closet.

Hang on every word

Along with maintaining a positive aura, one needs to be attentive. Listening is more than keeping quiet while the other person talks. A listener listens, but a good listener receives as well. You, not just nod your head, but are receptive of their emotions as well. This would show that you respect them and are interested to know about their ordeal. Keep an open body posture, make eye contact, echo their words.

Cross- Check and Empathize

What the other is trying to say and what you understand should be in sync. Keep a check in between, if required, by echoing their words. You may ask them questions, give a little push if required, and provide feedback. Most important of all is being empathetic. The person should feel accepted and understood.

Bypass the biases

The person sharing their sufferings is vulnerable. And opening up about the same can be very challenging for them. Being a good listener, one must abstain from judgments. Let the person put away his worries, let them be irrational, let them vent out! You can wait for the appropriate time to tell them what’s right or wrong. Then you are good listening person

Use silence appropriately.

At times, an appreciative or understanding silence might be the best response, after the person narrates the life event which is extremely appalling. When you feel they have unburdened themselves completely, that is the right time for you to speak up.

Learn More About Dr. Prerna Kohli

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About Dr. Prerna Kohli

Dr. Kohli believes that “You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you, but it’s not the same as a professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need.”

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with a solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Psychologist in India and provides families, individuals, parents and children counseling on being happy.

The 5 golden rules of good talking are:

Convey messages in a clear and effective manner: This should go without saying. If you are going to say anything at all, then it should be as clear and as concise as possible. If people get the feeling that you or your message are confused or that you are just using small talk to fill up time and/or embarrassment, they may switch off. They may also label you as a time-waster and shun your company. The key here is to make sure that you’ve actually got something to say before you open your mouth. If not, just make jokes or, if British, speak in irony. This is the first Rules of Good Talking

Use clear and unambiguous language: Avoid long, complex, or jargon-filled sentences, and keep your message as clear, simple, and to the point as possible. For example, empty expressions such as ‘best practice’, ‘core competencies’, ‘evidence-based’, and ‘moving forward’ are as pretentious as they are annoying, and almost designed to make you appear like a soulless corporate monkey.

Use non-verbal methods of communication: Think laterally. Think creatively. Support and enhance your message with non-verbal tools such as a diagram, prop, powerpoint presentation, or video. It is far more effective to pass a message through several media, in this case sight as well as hearing. 

Use repetition: If provided with a list, people best remember the first item (primacy effect) and the last item (recency effect) on the list. Therefore, if something is particularly important, say it twice: once at the beginning and once at the end. If a concept is particularly difficult or unwelcome, it may be worth building up to it over a period of time, and then to repeat it until it has been both understood and—crucially—accepted.

Check understanding: 

Yes, again. After going through a complex or difficult concept, make sure that the concept has been understood before you move on or leave. By getting your interlocutor(s) to grapple with the concept and translate it into their own words, you are not only checking understanding but also reinforcing learning and memorization.

Learn more about Dr. Prerna Kohli

“You can talk with a close friend or relative about what’s troubling you; it’s not the same as professionally-trained experienced psychologist who knows exactly what kind of help you need – Dr. Prerna Kohli.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
About Dr. Prerna Kohli

She is a 100 women Achievers Award Winner (2016) from the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a Clinical Psychologist, a Public Speaker, a Workshop Facilitator and a Holistic Practitioner. She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness and Inner Peace. Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change.

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a leading Child Psychologist in India and provides both parents and children counselling on raising healthy and well rounded children.