guide them to psychiatrists she insistsin india poor people dont have the bandwidth to access even basic medical care but it is heartening to know at least the younger generation is reaching out and saying its okay to talk about it dr dangwal does however advise caution the tricky part is when everyone starts giving advice its encouraging to have support groups but only to a point they can address problems at the surface care for the caregivers on a saturday afternoon last month a support group of caregivers assembled to discuss family and relationships at khoj studios in the bylanes of delhis khirki extensionthe listening circles provide solace and support not just for those undergoing mental distress but also for their caregivers who could be a spouse parents or children this support network is moderated by namarita kathait a commissioning editor with a publishing house and jhilmil breckenridgewe wanted to start a support group that is nonhierarchal and to get people together in a safe space to have a discourse on mental health tells namarita 25 who inadvertently became a caregiver for her mother when she was diagnosed with schizophreniai was labelled as the sad girl in school because i did not know how to express what i was going through she says speaking for the many who choose to remain silentfor jhilmil its important that guidance or advice is not pushed against anyones wishes people are already vulnerable we dont want to force things like meditation and spirituality on them she stressesthe next step says namarita is to build listening circles with those who have attended the sessions and to create support groups in their own localities in colleges and hostels and among the wider community our ethos is very clear we are here to listen and we keep it as liberal as possible she maintains people have the right to speak and not speak to walk in at any point they want youre not alone then there are youngsters striving to cope with parents who have been diagnosed with a mental illness its this bracket that an upcoming support group network is looking to rally around behind the group is divya dureja a counseling psychologist lgbt activist and tedx speaker if your parent experiences mental illness it is normal for you to have all kinds of different feelings she reasonsyou might not understand why your parents act the way they do it might be hard to know how to understand your parent or what to do for themdivya believes volunteer caregivers need to be empowered as a first line of defence ive been building frameworks of mental health support groups that dont seem to exist in our country she explainedover the past year ive interacted with over 400 students primarily studying psychology at panels summits and workshops and also those individuals who are looking for resources that are empowering to their mental health for psychological wellbeing is as critical for the ones who deliver care