We're Not Competing with Apps. We're Competing with Stigma.
We're not competing with other mental health apps. We're competing with the voice that says 'लोग क्या कहेंगे?'
September 4, 2024
Last week, I was speaking at the National Counsellors' meet. Sitting there with 200+ psychology students it also made me realise that as a mental health company, we're not competing with other mental health apps.
We're competing with the voice that says "लोग क्या कहेंगे?"
We're competing with neighbours who think depression means "कमजोर"
We're competing with the parents who believes anxiety is just "overthinking."
We're also competing with 300 million Indians suffering in silence.
These young minds are stepping into a battlefield where the enemy isn't mental illness, it's the silence around it.
Today we see a 28-year-old who'd rather live with panic attacks than tell his family. We see a senior manager booking sessions at 11 PM so colleagues don't find out. A mother who hides her therapy from her own children.
The mental health field is not about glamour or easy wins. Its about years fighting not just illness, but centuries of stigma. because for us in India, shame is still stronger than suffering.
But looking at those students' determination, I am sure, we will be winning.
One session, one student, one breakthrough at a time...
