Social media has received a lot of flak for being bad for mental health, with worries raised about its detrimental impact on relationships, self-esteem, and body image. However, mental health influencers are bringing in a positive influence. 

Influencers in the field of mental health have significantly increased in recent years, utilizing sites like Instagram and Twitter to share their own stories of personal struggle and mental health difficulties. Through their narratives they hope to provide others with support and guidance, encourage self-care, and seek professional support when necessary.

They are also playing an important role in eradicating the stigma associated with mental illness in India and providing a secure environment in which individuals may talk about their experiences.

Here are six Indian mental health influencers to follow in 2023:

1. Sonali Gupta – Mental Health with Sonali

Sonali Gupta is a psychologist, TEDx speaker, and author with a practice in Mumbai. Her Instagram page, Mental Health with Sonali, is dedicated to mental health and wellbeing and provides advice, information, and tools to help users feel better. 

She seeks to dispel stigma around mental health and raise awareness. She has even authored a book titled “Anxiety: Overcome It and Live Without Fear” and has contributed columns to a number of magazines.  With a focus on relationship challenges, anxiety and stress management, and self-care, her Instagram account gives advice, insights, and resources pertaining to mental health and well-being. 

Vandana Subramanian – Psychoflakes

Psychotherapist and mental health influencer, Vandana Subramanian, set up her platform to talk about mental health issues and the stigma associated with them. 

Her account, Psychoflakes, focuses on mental health, self-care, and well-being and provides them with useful advice, insights, and resources. Vandana covers topics such as anxiety, stress, relationships, and mindfulness, among others. In addition, she provides online counseling sessions for those who require help. The concept behind Psychoflakes Counselling Center was to start each day with a good dose of therapy and wellness information.

She has received recognition by the people for her work in mental health awareness and got featured in several media sites. 

3. Rhea Gandhi- Decolonize Psychotherapy

Rhea Gandhi is a writer, activist, and mental health therapist with a practice in Mumbai. 

Her Instagram page, Decolonize Psychotherapy, is dedicated to social justice, trauma, and mental health. She utilizes her platform to fight for more inclusive and culturally competent mental health care and to raise awareness about mental health. 

Rhea contends that in order to decolonize psychotherapy, it is necessary to acknowledge and combat the ways in which colonialism and imperialism have influenced it.Through this account she aims to provide a forum where individuals can discuss their experiences related to mental health. 

4. Dr. Meghna Singhal – The Therapist Mommy

Focusing on mental health, parenting, and self-care, The Therapist Mommy provides support, guidance, and insights to help parents deal with the difficulties of raising kids while putting their mental health first. She is one of the first people from India to be accredited by the Triple-P Positive Parenting Program. Dr. Meghna holds a PhD in clinical psychology from NIMHANS (India) and a post-doctoral certificate from the University of Queensland’s Parenting and Family Support Centre (Australia).

Parenting, self-care, and mental health are just a few of the themes that Dr. Meghna addresses in her writing. Through her platform she tries to help parents who are juggling the demands of raising kids while putting their own mental health first. She created this account in order to bring together other parents who are also struggling with their mental health.

5. Mental Health Talks India

Mental Health Talks India is a mental health advocacy platform founded by Ayushi Khemka.  Ayushi, a native of Delhi founded Mental Health Talks India in April 2018. She wants to eradicate the stigma associated with mental health in India despite having experienced depression and anxiety herself. She is also a PhD student at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she studies how social media and gendered violence intersect.

Their Instagram account focuses on promoting mental health awareness, education, and advocacy while sharing information, tools, and stories from those who have really dealt with mental health issues. The founder’s own journey with anxiety, which she shares in the article “My Journey with Anxiety: No, It’s Not Nervousness” is inspiring to read. They advocate for more easily accessible and inclusive mental health care in India and their work in raising mental health awareness. 

6. Jagruthi Karthik- Mindful Thrive

Jagruthi Karthik is the founder of Mindful Thrive and is a mental health advocate. Her Instagram page is dedicated to mental health, self-care, and mindfulness and provides advice, information, and tools to help users improve their mental health and general well-being. Jagruti is also a regular practitioner of meditation. She also hosts a podcast called ‘Mindfulness with Jagruthi: A Guide to Mindful Millennial Lifestyle’. 

She discusses her ideas, life experiences, and practical advice on mindfulness, mental health, personal development, self-care, self-love, and wellbeing. 

Mental health literacy is the need of the hour, and we need to find as many ways as possible of increasing it. Mental health influencers who are also trained professionals are proving to be enablers as they improve access to knowledge and help reduce stigma.