Professor Anil Thapliyal
Dr Giresh Kanji was born in Wellington.
He is a visionary thought leader with a passion to find solutions to common health problems. His parents migrated from Gujarat.
His mother Laxmi lives in Wellington. His late father, Kanji Morar Patel, was the first Indian migrant to graduate in New Zealand in 1953.
He is married to Sathna and has three children Ataya, Keelan and Jessica.
Misfortunes in early life
Dr Kanji had several misfortunes when growing up.
At the age of five he developed tuberculosis and was hospitalised in isolation at the Fever Hospital, Mount Victoria in Wellington for three months.
He has blocked most of the memories of this hospitalisation out of his mind.
A year later, he fractured his hip and ended up in traction at Wellington Hospital for nine weeks. Further tragedy hit his family when two of his siblings died in the late 1960s.
Dr Kanji experienced nightmares and night sweats two or three times a week until he was 40 years old. He experienced insomnia, anxiety and a bout of depression.
In his Book, ‘Brain Connections: How to Sleep Better, Worry Less and Feel Happier,’ he outlines his story how he transformed his life after 40, due to his own research.
Transformation at Forty
Dr Kanji attended Otago University and has spent 27 years at Otago University and Massey University studying medicine and a variety of degrees.
He completed his PhD exploring how stress increases pain.
During this study, he found how stress creates symptoms of insomnia, anxiety and depression. Upon finishing his thesis, he started writing books to bring information to people in an easy to understand language.
In 2013, he released ‘Fix Your Back,’ in 2015 ‘Fix Your Neck Pain, Headache and Migraine.’
He has been working on his new book ‘Brain Connections: How to Sleep Better, Worry Less and Feel Happier,’ for the past four years.
About ‘Brain Connections’
‘Brain connections’ is fully referenced from the medical sources to give credibility to the chapters that discuss how childhood trauma winds up the human stress system and how this impacts peoples stress related symptoms.
The book outlines the surprising solutions, basic habits that unwind the human stress system. One of these habits is attending the sauna, something that always raises eyebrows.
Dr Kanji is interested in long-term solutions and the impact on health on an individual for decades to come to ensure a life full or joy and vitality.
The book is easy to read and gives the reader an excellent understanding of why symptoms develop and how to resolve them.
Impressive Credentials
Dr Kanji is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at University of Auckland, Chairman of New Zealand Pain Foundation and Editor of Australasian Musculoskeletal Medicine Journal.
He moved to Auckland in 2017 to perform research.
He is currently working with several departments, writing papers and investigating solutions for spinal pain and mental health.
Along with Professor Partha Roop and colleagues, he is developing a sensor and app that can be used to manage depression.
Dr Kanji says, “Everyone deserves to live a life free of insomnia, anxiety and depression, but the truth is that these symptoms haunt many of us, often we have no idea of why they occur and what habits will eliminate them, allowing us live a life full of energy and joy. Furthermore, the solutions must target the cause of the problems and unwind the stress pathways in the human brain and body.”
He has had excellent media coverage with appearances on the Project,
Breakfast Television and several national radio interviews.
‘Brain Connections,’ is quickly becoming a New Zealand Bestseller, just reward and triumph for his hard work over the past decade.
His personal journey also has a happy ending with better sleep without nightmares, no anxiety and a life of joy.
‘Brain Connections: How To Sleep Better, Worry Less and Feel Happier’ is available at Whitcoulls, Paper Plus, bookshops throughout New Zealand and at www.gireshkanji.com
Anil Thapliyal is the eMental Health Lead and Adjunct Professor at the Centre for eHealth, Auckland University of Technology. He is also President, eMental Health International Collaborative and a Member of the eMental Health Section of the World Psychiatric Association. (Picture of Anil Thapliyal by Lorenzo Thapliyal)
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Dr Giresh Kanji (Picture Supplied)
