Mental Health

Who would we be if we weren’t trying to survive? A Conversation on the Survival Myth
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Who would we be if we weren’t trying to survive? A Conversation on the Survival Myth

What does it mean to hold space and extend compassion to ourselves and our  communities? Rachel Cargle reminds us to ask ourselves: who  would we be if we weren’t trying to survive? Similarly, what would care and vulnerability look like if we weren’t trying to survive? The anarchy of queerness constantly and necessarily resists the capitalist engineering of the Survival Myth: one that wants us to endure an isolated life instead of embracing it with the radically transformative joy of togetherness. Caring for yourself precedes, succeeds, and exists alongside caring for the collective.
By Rukmini and Soumya
July 19, 2021
Who would we be if we weren’t trying to survive? A Conversation on the Survival Myth
Where do we begin?
An office space with rows of desks. At the forefront are two desks with monitors, chairs and desk lamps. There are knick-knacks like a wooden statue of a cat, plan, a bottle containing amber-coloured liquid and cables.
Where do we begin?

The connection between mental and emotional wellbeing and stigmatised identities is perhaps most easily understood and therefore a good entry…
By Shikha Aleya
September 19, 2022
Where do we begin?
When the Game is Set Against You, Why Play By The Rules?
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When the Game is Set Against You, Why Play By The Rules?

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” — J. Krishnamurti Sexuality for…
By Simran Kewlani and Vasudha Ramani
September 19, 2022
When the Game is Set Against You, Why Play By The Rules?
What You Need to Know About Dating While Mentally Ill: A Guide By Mentally Ill Women
What You Need to Know About Dating While Mentally Ill: A Guide By Mentally Ill Women

August 27, 2018 by Sophia Stephens Affectionate couple on bed In my experience, one of the most frustrating challenges about living with…
By Curated Content
May 15, 2020
What You Need to Know About Dating While Mentally Ill: A Guide By Mentally Ill Women
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT SELF-CARE AND WELLBEING AS A SEXUALITY RIGHTS ACTIVIST
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WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT SELF-CARE AND WELLBEING AS A SEXUALITY RIGHTS ACTIVIST

Wellbeing and sexuality for me therefore entailed thinking through and dealing with violence, understanding and acknowledging it as not the entirety of one’s experience, and going through a process of healing.
By Arpita Das
January 4, 2021
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT SELF-CARE AND WELLBEING AS A SEXUALITY RIGHTS ACTIVIST
Video: How to be a Friend to Yourself
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Video: How to be a Friend to Yourself

This thought-provoking, luminously illustrated The School of Life video reminds us of self-compassion being essential to building our own selves up, and being a safe space where we can extend the same love and imagination to our vulnerabilities, insecurities, fears, and doubts as we do to our friends.
By Curated Content
July 5, 2021
Video: How to be a Friend to Yourself
Video: “Me, We, Us”
A screenshot from the video. Against a black background, there is a faded illustration of a human face surrounded by concentric wave pattern. On top of the illustration are words in English and Hindi in two columns. On the left column are the words: Language, Sexuality, LGBTQIA+, Gender, Mental Health, Rights, Domestic Violence, Sex Work, Activists. On the right column are the words: Tension, Burnout Prevention, Anxiety, Stress, Risk
Video: “Me, We, Us”

Conversations about stress, burnout and mental health have gained prominence, especially during and since the COVID-19 pandemic. But, what is stress and burnout?
By Curated Content
September 1, 2022
Video: “Me, We, Us”
This is how we do it
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This is how we do it

We need to recognise that mental health stressors that queer people face are not because something is inherently wrong with them.
By Shruti Chakravarty
September 1, 2022
This is how we do it
The ‘Aunty’ Body And All That Follows
A photograph of a pen-and-paper illustration of two women, depicted as stereotypical ‘Auntys’ in the Indian context, talking to each other.
The ‘Aunty’ Body And All That Follows

The issue with the ‘Aunty’ body arises from a deeply misogynistic and dehumanising understanding of women. In this imagination the woman, whom the world now addresses as ‘Aunty’, has basically served her purpose of marriage and child bearing, and is hence rendered useless.

By Feminism in India
March 15, 2021
The ‘Aunty’ Body And All That Follows
The Silent Theft of Consent: How Patriarchy Undermines Women at Every Step
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The Silent Theft of Consent: How Patriarchy Undermines Women at Every Step

When a woman, in her own house, is told by her family members, to always seek their consent before doing anything, and to always keep them informed of every activity she engages in, or even to seek a job in her chosen field, her freedom is taken away from her. She is expected to take their consent for anything and everything, but her own consent is taken away from her.
By Aanya Narula
February 18, 2025
The Silent Theft of Consent: How Patriarchy Undermines Women at Every Step
The Risks and Gains of Coming In
An illustration of a woman walking on an empty street at night, with a backpack from which a crescent moon and stars are emerging.
The Risks and Gains of Coming In

I had risked so much already, not just by loving another woman, but by acting on my desires. By allowing myself to feel intimacy and connection with another queer person. Despite feeling guilt and shame, this risk had become increasingly vital to take.

By Sweta
October 15, 2020
The Risks and Gains of Coming In
The Politics of Self Care and Feminism
On a pink background, an illustration of a person of colour with black curly hair. On each side are plants, hanging and potted including leaves, cacti, and flowers. The person's arms are wrapped around their torso.
The Politics of Self Care and Feminism

In a time when reason is more valued than emotion, unravelling and understanding the politics of self-care becomes all the more fundamental for us, and the movements we seek to develop and build. When our bodies, our emotions and our needs become weapons to be used against us, acts of defiance become rooted in thinking about your self and how we practice it. I find I am faced with more questions than answers, but I also know that asking the questions is the first step to finding the answers
By Curated Content
July 19, 2021
The Politics of Self Care and Feminism
The Nun Within: Reflections on our self-care workshops with activists
A photograph of a woman sitting indoors. She has cropped white-grey hair and is looking upwards. She is wearing a black full-sleeved top and her palms are open outwards. She is wearing a black necklace and is smiling. In front of her, a person is half-visible, clad in black, holding out their palms. There are red chairs on the side, and at the back, a person with black short hair, wearing a white top and mask, using a phone, is sitting.
The Nun Within: Reflections on our self-care workshops with activists

I know that the lives of many human rights defenders are under continuous threat, that sometimes it is impossible to sleep or to enjoy a moment of peace because of the harassment coming from the outside. What I address in this text is our internal disposition as activists, and the ideas that stop us from taking care of and holding ourselves together.
By Rosa Posa Guinea
July 19, 2021
The Nun Within: Reflections on our self-care workshops with activists
The Invisible Feminism in Freud?
Black and white picture of psychologist Sigmund Freud. He has a white beard, is wearing dark round glasses along with a tweed jacket
The Invisible Feminism in Freud?

Should it have been a full stop or a question mark that finished the above title? It deeply confused me….
By Tanisha Chadha
April 15, 2015
The Invisible Feminism in Freud?
The Indian Beta
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The Indian Beta

While we have come a long way from the singular Freudian focus on sexual energies and reducing most mental health disturbances to sexuality, there is no doubting its significance for an individual’s wellbeing.
By Mahesh Natarajan
June 1, 2018
The Indian Beta
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