Swathya Singh Chauhan: Road To Nepenthe

ROAD TO NEPENTHE - A MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE FOR TEENS

· What do we do?

Road to Nepenthe is a mental health organisation for teens, run by teens. It is all about improving support extended to struggling adolescents and destigmatise the topic of teen mental health among the adults around them. Our name ‘Road to Nepenthe’ means a journey towards a state of well-being while healing along the way. We believe that such a journey can be extremely painful and through this endeavour, we want to reach out to teens like us, who are in the search for their own ‘nepenthe’, i.e., something or someplace that can make them heal from their grief and suffering, and lessen their pain. We aim to inform teenagers about various mental health issues, provide support to those who are struggling and raise awareness among adults and teens about the prevalence and severity of teen mental health issues and start healthy conversations on these topics among them.

· What inspired me to start it?

2 major incidents in my life from the last 6-7 months inspired me to start this. The first happened in November when I prepared a short talk on mental health a part of a peer mentoring club at my school. I didn’t want any teenager starting high school with a neglect towards their mental health like myslef. As I gave the talk and narrated my personal experience, I realised how passionate I was about raising awareness about teen mental health. The second was the biggest mental breakdown of my life. It was the first week of January. By that point, I was already struggling to cope with severe depression, anxiety and self-imposed academic stress. I happened to listen to a BTS’ song called ‘Interlude: Shadow’ which is based on Carl Jung’s philosophy of Shadow and Ego. It triggered this spark in me and that day, my mindset shifted drastically. I embraced all the darkness within me and accepted the broken me. That started my journey to heal .My personal experience where I didn’t get much support from the adults around inspired me to start an initiative that would reach out to teenagers, so that they never have to go through what I went through, atleast not alone.

· How do we evaluate the progress of our initiative?

We believe that the progress of our initiative is measured by the community response and, so far, I think it's safe to say that it has been pretty incredible! The initial response we received for our team members' applications was overwhelming. We needed 15-20 people and expected around 30 to apply. But guess what? We got around 70 applications! We even had to close our applications early because we didn’t know what to do! Our team of 48 people is working really hard to make a difference and a lot of teenagers have been supporting our organisation by participating in the challenges and other interactive activities we do online. This motivates our team to strive for more . This June, we have a really nice pride celebration planned! And by July, we plan on actively conducting meetings in a support group!

· What motivates me to keep going on with this initiative?

Just picture this. A teenage girl, locked up in her room at 3 am, hugging the pillow hard and crying her eyes out. She’s struggling to breathe and with each breath, her chest feels heavier and heavier, and the sinking feeling that she had been feeling for a long time is worsening. She wants someone to give her a hug, comfort her, love her. But all she has at that moment is her pillow, wet with her tears and she can’t help but feel like the loneliest person on earth. No matter what she does or says, no one takes her seriously and understands her pain. This is the mental image that keeps me going, it motivates me to keep working tirelessly on this initiative. I can’t imagine someone going through such a dark and tough time all by themselves and through this initiative, I hope that maybe, just maybe, we can lessen their pain by being there for them and guide them towards healing.

· Where do we hope to take this initiative?

I have many aspirations for this initiative and so does my team. In the short term, we plan on increasing our online reach through interactive challenges and IGTV videos with interviews and other helpful content. We also plan to run a support group and start a podcast/video series in the future. In the long run, we plan on conducting offline events like talks and workshops on self-care and motivation and arrange free therapy/coaching sessions for those who are struggling but can’t afford it. We want to reach out to as many people as we can and form a healthy community where mental health is not taboo and is discussed as freely as physical health.

· What message do we have for those struggling with their mental health?

It’ll be okay. Just hang on. It’ll get better and you will find support inside of you when you can’t find it in anyone around you. There are many online resources, all you have to do is Google once and you’ll find this whole online community that’ll support you and talk to you when you can’t find someone to listen to your sorrow. You might feel miserable and out of control all the time but don’t lose hope. Just hold on to yourself when you’ll face your darkest nights and trust me, you’ll come out into the dawn like a sparkling diamond, healing. Healing will begin one day, and it’s not a linear process so don’t be discouraged when something bad would happen after an extended period of bliss. Just listen to yourself, take care of yourself like you would of a friend that was upset, maybe give yourself a pat on the back for the little things in life and try your best to express yourself. The mind can be our worst enemy and the only way to let go of harsh emotions is to speak out or write everything down. One more thing, please never think that you are insignificant and think about ending it all; your life is precious and you do matter. Remember: You've got this!!!

Loads of Love,

Swathya