Caregiver Everyday struggles Office life Beyond the city What’s your story?

ABOUT

Behind every ‘I’m Fine’, there’s a story. This Series Is Here To Tell It

We say it a dozen times a day: "Fine." "Chal raha hai." "Sab theek." It's easier than the truth, which is usually more complicated.

How Are You, India? is a storytelling series by The Better India about that truth: the daily, imperfect work of looking after our minds and the people we love. No diagnosis-first labels, no triumphant recovery arcs. Just ordinary people doing small, steady things: the phone call, the boundary, the conversation they finally have.

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Across four sections, you'll meet those getting through ordinary days, those giving care unseen, and communities too often left out, with experts explaining what helps, jargon-free.

We hope to make it easier to ask, easier to answer honestly, and easier to carry together.

So, how are you, really?

EXPLORE THE SERIES

Four Sections. Many Real Stories.

01
Caregiver

Who’s looking after you?

For every person going through a hard time, someone keeps watch: a mother, a partner, a friend who never stops picking up, a counsellor at the end of a long shift. They give care that is quiet and costly, and rarely thanked. These are their stories, and what sustains them.

'Connect Before Correcting': Psychologist Explains What Parents Should Know About Their Teenage Children image

'Connect Before Correcting': Psychologist Explains What Parents Should Know About Their Teenage Children
A Mother's Schizophrenia, a Husband's Suicide, a Daughter's OCD: Nobody Asked How These Women Were. Now They Ask India image

A Mother's Schizophrenia, a Husband's Suicide, a Daughter's OCD: Nobody Asked How These Women Were. Now They Ask India
How Do You Tell Your Child They Have a Rare Disease Without Scaring Them? We Asked Psychologists image

How Do You Tell Your Child They Have a Rare Disease Without Scaring Them? We Asked Psychologists
How a Bengaluru Mother Looked Past Mental Health Stigma To Get Her Teenage Son the Help He Needed image

How a Bengaluru Mother Looked Past Mental Health Stigma To Get Her Teenage Son the Help He Needed
'My Sister Has Schizophrenia: What I Learnt About Love, Boundaries & Burnout While Caring For Her' image

'My Sister Has Schizophrenia: What I Learnt About Love, Boundaries & Burnout While Caring For Her'
Inspired by Her Mum, Woman Counsels Over 11,000 Cancer Patients & Caregivers image

Inspired by Her Mum, Woman Counsels Over 11,000 Cancer Patients & Caregivers
'I Had to Be a Caregiver at 12': A Delhi Woman’s Listening Circles Are Helping People Heal image

'I Had to Be a Caregiver at 12': A Delhi Woman’s Listening Circles Are Helping People Heal
'Tell Me Your Story for Rs 10': This Engineer is Building an 'Army' of Emotional Support for Indians image

'Tell Me Your Story for Rs 10': This Engineer is Building an 'Army' of Emotional Support for Indians
Daughter's Schizophrenia Inspired Pune Man To Help Draft India's Mental Health Act image

Daughter's Schizophrenia Inspired Pune Man To Help Draft India's Mental Health Act
No Endless Sacrifice: Caregiver Burnout is Real & Can be Prevented. Here’s How! image

No Endless Sacrifice: Caregiver Burnout is Real & Can be Prevented. Here’s How!
How to Love, Care and Support Someone With Dementia If the Tried and Tested Doesn't Work image

How to Love, Care and Support Someone With Dementia If the Tried and Tested Doesn't Work
TBI Blogs: This Initiative Is Improving Lives of Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers in Bangalore image

TBI Blogs: This Initiative Is Improving Lives of Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers in Bangalore
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02
Everyday struggles

How did you get through today?

Most bravery never makes the news. It’s the crowded market, the endless to-do list, and the weight you carry through both, unseen, and faced anyway. These are the stories of how ordinary Indians keep going on hard days, and what truly helps.

When a New Mother Says ‘I Can’t Take It Anymore’, Here’s What Her Family Should Do image

When a New Mother Says ‘I Can’t Take It Anymore’, Here’s What Her Family Should Do
After ‘Congratulations!' Two Moms Share the Loneliness After Birth & What Helped Them Heal image

After ‘Congratulations!' Two Moms Share the Loneliness After Birth & What Helped Them Heal
Father’s Day Guide: Here’s How to Talk to Your Dad About His Mental Well-Being image

Father’s Day Guide: Here’s How to Talk to Your Dad About His Mental Well-Being
What Hasn’t Changed About Motherhood: Sleepless Nights, Selfless Love & Voices From Across Generations image

What Hasn’t Changed About Motherhood: Sleepless Nights, Selfless Love & Voices From Across Generations
How To Talk to Children About War And Conflict image

How To Talk to Children About War And Conflict
I Reclaimed Life After an Autism Diagnosis at 31, Finally Finding a Name for My Struggles image

I Reclaimed Life After an Autism Diagnosis at 31, Finally Finding a Name for My Struggles
‘Losing My Twins Showed How Big a Taboo Child Loss Is & Why it Needs to Be Spoken About’ image

‘Losing My Twins Showed How Big a Taboo Child Loss Is & Why it Needs to Be Spoken About’
PHOTO STORY: Meet an Inspiring Woman Who Made Art Her Way to Live With Schizophrenia image

PHOTO STORY: Meet an Inspiring Woman Who Made Art Her Way to Live With Schizophrenia
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03
Office life

How’s work, really?

Some of the hardest battles are fought between 9 and 5: the presentation that keeps you up at night, the “no” that stings more than it should, the tiredness no leave can fix. How people steady themselves at work, and the workplaces learning to hold them.

‘I Stopped Hiding My ADHD at Work at 37. It Changed How I Do My Job’ image

‘I Stopped Hiding My ADHD at Work at 37. It Changed How I Do My Job’
Last UPSC Attempt: IPS & Psychologist Explain How Aspirants Can Handle The Pressure image

Last UPSC Attempt: IPS & Psychologist Explain How Aspirants Can Handle The Pressure
'Be Kind’: What Toxic Workplaces Can Learn From Companies Building Healthy Environments image

'Be Kind’: What Toxic Workplaces Can Learn From Companies Building Healthy Environments
3 Ways to Run a Supportive Workplace Sensitive Towards Mental Health of all Employees image

3 Ways to Run a Supportive Workplace Sensitive Towards Mental Health of all Employees
Burnout to Balanced: Here's How Your Office Can Ensure You Are All Happy of Mind image

Burnout to Balanced: Here's How Your Office Can Ensure You Are All Happy of Mind
Struggling with an Addiction to Technology? Here's How You Can Prevent a Digital Burnout image

Struggling with an Addiction to Technology? Here's How You Can Prevent a Digital Burnout
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04
Beyond the city

How are the villages doing?

Some people have never been asked how they are, not by the world or by the systems meant to care. LGBTQIA+ people, women, tribal communities and migrant workers share how they endure, heal and hold each other up, in places the conversation hasn’t reached.

Couple’s Project Takes Affordable Mental Healthcare to Rural Northeast India image

Couple’s Project Takes Affordable Mental Healthcare to Rural Northeast India
Expert-Backed Solutions On How Rural Communities Can Build Mental Health Safety Nets in Times of Crisis image

Expert-Backed Solutions On How Rural Communities Can Build Mental Health Safety Nets in Times of Crisis
She Once Endured Abuse in Silence — Now She Works Tirelessly To Help 1000s of Women Like Her image

She Once Endured Abuse in Silence — Now She Works Tirelessly To Help 1000s of Women Like Her
My Sister Lost Her Life to Mental Illness, Now I Help 100s In Villages Fight Theirs image

My Sister Lost Her Life to Mental Illness, Now I Help 100s In Villages Fight Theirs
TBI Blogs: What Rural and Urban India Can Teach Each Other About Mental Healthcare image

TBI Blogs: What Rural and Urban India Can Teach Each Other About Mental Healthcare
Two Initiatives, Two Approaches, One Cause - Addressing Mental Illness in Rural India image

Two Initiatives, Two Approaches, One Cause - Addressing Mental Illness in Rural India
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