Legislation is an important part of the life and necessary for social order. Every psychiatrist, in course of his practice, has to deal with various types of legislation or legal issues, which may be either civil or criminal in nature. Forensic psychiatry fills the gap and can be understood as a branch of psychiatry which discusses and deals with these issues originating from interface between law and psychiatric issues. The present article deals with the civil issues which are of concern to the psychiatrist in the course of discharge of his duties. The civil issues which are of importance for psychiatrists are Marriage/Divorce, Competence to be witness, Testamentary capacity, Contract, Adoption, Fitness to take care of person and property, Fitness for job, fitness for work, Voting rights and ineligibility for holding Constitutional posts, Ethical Issues, Civil Liability and liability under the Telemedicine, Telemedicine, and Liabilities under the MHCA 2017. All these issues are discussed in detail.

Background: Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a deadly viral disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has caused over a million deaths globally and still counting. Many countries are observing a nationwide lockdown since November 2019 that varied from time to time and country to country to decrease its spread and the governments are urging the people to follow safety guidelines such as face and nose masking, different hygienic habits, sanitization, repeated handwashing, avoiding crowd, not spitting in the public place, not using the tobacco products , and social distancing, etc. that may cause loneliness, mental distress, anxiety, and depression. Method : Electronic database PubMed was searched from 1 December 2019 to 25 November 2020 using the keywords \"coronavirus disease, COVID-19, yoga, meditation, pranayama, mindfulness, and mental health.\" Out of 95 studies, 23 were selected for the review. Result: There are no studies published to evaluate the effect of yoga on mental health during the spread of COVID-19 pandemic on people. However, the studies published on the effect of yoga and meditation for improving mental health are of great importance to deal with such a challenging COVID-19 pandemic period. Conclusion: Yoga and meditation can be used as a preventive and coping measure to combat COVID-19 and to reduce the harmful psychological effects due to COVID-19.

Background: Epilepsy is a common childhood neurological disorder with complex symptoms. Family members, especially parents and siblings, experience emotional pain, especially when seizures occur frequently. Stress can be defined as the psychological and physical response of the caregiver as they try to cope with the challenges of caring for their sick child. Therefore to maintain this domain this study is designed to assess the stress of a patient with epilepsy (PWE) and their siblings. Objective: To examine the perceived stress of persons with epilepsy, their siblings and normal controls. Method: This study was a part of a cross-sectional, hospital-based study and the samples were selected through the purposive sampling process. In the study, 60 people were included (20 patients diagnosed with epilepsy according to the International League against Epilepsy (ILAE), 20 siblings of patients with epilepsy, and 20 people with general control). The age range was 20–45 in each group. Age, education, and family income have been compared between siblings and general controls. The perceived stress scale was used for all participants in the stress assessment. For the siblings and normal controls, GHQ-12 was applied and a person who scored less than three in GHQ-12 was included in the study. Result and conclusion: Findings of the present study concluded that patient and their siblings had higher stress in comparison to normal individuals.

Depression is frequent in patients with schizophrenia and it is usually associated with negative impacts. Previous researches showed comorbid prevalence of depression in patients with schizophrenia; this might be due to using of screening scales that are not designed specifically to schizophrenia. Aims: This study examined the clinical and demographic criteria correlating with depressive symptoms in Saudi patients with schizophrenia. Subjects and methods: A sample of 87 patients (20 females and 57 male inpatients) diagnosed with schizophrenia were recruited from Qassim Mental Health Hospital. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the \"Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS).\" Demographic and other clinical data were also collected. Results: Depressive symptoms were positive in 20.5% of male schizophrenia patients and 5% of female patients.

Background: Expressed emotion is a measure of the family environment that is based on how the relatives of a psychiatric patient spontaneously talk about the patient. Outcome of the mental disorder depends upon the various prognostic factors. Among various prognostic factors, expressed emotion is the bad prognostic factor, which is the negative attitude shown by a family member toward the patient. This expressed emotion can be reduced and is reversible if the family member and the patient undergo various psychoeducation programs. Aim: To find out the effectiveness of psychoeducation on expressed emotion of family members and patients with schizophrenia. Method: The study adopted a quantitative approach with pre-experimental design. Fifty patients with schizophrenia and their family members from Tertiary Hospital of Assam, following convenience sampling technique, were selected. Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was used to rule out psychopathology in patient. Family Attitude Scale and Family Emotional Involvement and Criticism Scale were used for assessing the expressed emotion of family members and the patient as a pretest and then on the same day psychoeducation was provided. On the 30th day of follow-up, again assessment of expressed emotion was done by using same scales as posttest. Analysis was done by using SPSS version 18. Results: There was a significant difference between the expressed emotion of family members and patients with schizophrenia following psychoeducation. So, psychoeducation was effective to decrease the level of expressed emotion. Conclusion: Psychoeducation has a positive impact on decreasing the level of expressed emotion and thus improving the outcome of mental illness.

Background: Puerperal women are at risk of depression and self-harm, yet few attributes have been assessed. Aims : To assess the psychosocial attributes of self-harm thoughts in depressed women at 2 months postpartum. Methods : Forty postpartum women (enrolled over 1 year), diagnosed as major depressive disorder with postpartum onset were assessed for thoughts of self-harm and various psychosocial attributes. Regression analysis was used to assess the relation between them. Results : Twenty-five percent of the women with depression had self-harm thoughts (10 out of 40). Psychosocial factors assessed were significantly correlated with maternal self-harm thoughts (F = 5.92, adjusted R² = 0.54, p < 0.01). Significant factors were maternal age (β = - 0.43, p < 0.01), education status (β = 0.80, p < 0.01), employment status (β = - 0.30, p = 0.02), and history of physical abuse (β = 0.35, p = 0.01). Conclusions : Psychosocial factors are associated significantly with self-harm thoughts in puerperal women.

Climate change is a serious public health crisis of international concern. It has been interconnected to chronic medical conditions also as psychological state and may propel the body's response to existing environmental assaults into overdrive. It is well documented that climate change causes significant stress and distress, anxiety-related responses as well as chronic and severe mental health disorders. The exiting literatures found that acute events have been associated with elevated levels of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSDs), and high-risk coping behaviors, such as alcohol use and abuse, aggressive behavior, post-traumatic stress, and domestic violence have also been associated with changing climate. The changes in climates have been directly connected to human activities and not merely due to normal patterns of nature. Thus, this article may act as a quick reference for those interested in studying the various physical and psychological aspects of climate change.

Anti-N-Methyl D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDA-R) encephalitis is an underdiagnosed autoimmune condition that can present with “flu” like illness that progresses through stages of psychotic symptoms and movement disorders that further deteriorates to autonomic instability and even death if not treated promptly. The case condition often presents to psychiatrists who may find the condition not responding to standard treatments posing significant diagnostic challenges. Often it can present as a paraneoplastic syndrome, but recent data shows the occurrence of idiopathic presentations. Here we present of a 40-year-old male with one such typical clinical presentation of psychotic symptoms along with movement abnormalities and progression to further neurological deterioration who after systemic evaluation was diagnosed to be a case of anti-NMDA-R encephalitis. He responded well to IVIG and plasma exchange. There is a need to recognize this condition more vigilantly in practice and the factors favoring prognosis and outcomes are further discussed.