Look beyond awareness and consider how mental healthcare can better respond to people’s lived experiences. Understanding mental health requires more than identifying symptoms.
“Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change,” places people with lived experience at the centre of the conversation.
Tavishi Dogra is a Deputy Chief Content Producer, Health & Wellness, at Hindustan Times. She joined Hindustan Times to simplify wellness subjects by cutting through jargon. She has over 9 years of experience writing about fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, translating medical research and expert insights into practical advice readers can trust. Career journey and experience Tavishi began her health journalism journey in 2017, and has since reported for RSTV, Financial Express, Jagran, HT Media Labs and Zee.
2. Understanding behaviour before labelling it
Education and professional background Tavishi holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and began her career reporting on public affairs for broadcast. Editorial Philosophy I write with one single goal: To simplify health in a world full of noise by finding what’s actually doable, safe, and evidence-based for my readers. I test claims against research and user experiences. One person may struggle after losing a job and face financial uncertainty. Both may suffer from mood changes, disturbed sleep, reduced motivation and difficulty concentrating. Take the example of a professional experiencing significant work-related anxiety. A therapist may recommend setting clearer workload boundaries. In India, mental health can intersect with academic and occupational pressure, family expectations, gender roles, caregiving responsibilities, financial stress and attitudes towards mental illness. A person experiencing panic attacks may genuinely believe that the physical sensations indicate a serious medical problem. People who have used mental health services can identify practical barriers that professionals may not always encounter themselves, including affordability, accessibility, waiting times, language barriers, stigma and difficulties navigating healthcare systems. For one person, recovery may mean returning to full-time employment. Mental health professionals contribute training in psychopathology, assessment, risk management, psychological formulation and evidence-based treatment. People with lived experience contribute an understanding of how mental health difficulties affect everyday life and how services are actually encountered by those who use them. This is an opportunity to move beyond asking whether people are being heard and consider how their experiences can improve mental healthcare. Lived experience does not replace clinical knowledge. It helps make that knowledge more relevant to real life. ( Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.)
When all else fails, I speak to the expert who sees 50 patients a day, not the one with the most followers. 8 things to keep in mind: Consider two people diagnosed with depression.
“Another may have stable employment but can struggle with loneliness after the breakdown of a long-term relationship” Psychologist Dhara Ghuntla at Sujay Hospital, 7 Hills Hospital and Criticare Hospital tells Health Shots . Those early years in policy and TV shaped how she writes today: fast, factual, and human-first.
Subject expertise With 9+ years tracking India’s health conversations, Tavishi knows the gap between clinical advice and daily life. She knows fads from fundamentals and curates science-backed, expert-recommended solutions. In fitness, she breaks down bodyweight training, recovery, and posture fixes for desk-bound readers. In nutrition, she translates guidelines into affordable, desi meal tweaks. In mental well-being, she focuses on stigma-free, actionable tools — all backed by research, expert input, and lived context.
From decoding health trends and interviewing doctors to testing fitness routines herself, Tavishi always approaches content with one filter: “Will this help someone make a better decision today?
