Shaheen Bhatt, PV Sindhu and Mallika Dua come together for Brave Together Campaign

Maybelline New York’s recently launched Brave Together campaign, the event hosted a panel discussion on ‘Bridging Gaps In Mental Health By Making Support Accessible’ with International Badminton champion, Olympian, and campaign ambassador PV Sindhu, author and founder of ‘Here comes the sun’ Shaheen Bhatt, actor & comedian Mallika Dua, and author Arjun Gupta. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Anant Bhan, Mentor, Principal Investigator, and Project Lead at NGO Sangath. In addition to the engaging panel discussion, the event also hosted a few workshops focused on arts, dance, and listening circles, given the important role these play in addressing mental health.

Olympian PV Sindhu, campaign ambassador of the Brave together campaign said, “In the pursuit of success, happiness, and fame, we often think talking of mental health will be frowned upon or will slow us down. Therefore, talking about mental health is still taboo and pushes a lot of struggling people behind the curtains. It is very important for every individual to get the help they need without being shamed for it. I’m glad to be a part of this change and will continue to advocate for mental well-being and self-love.”

Shaheen Bhatt, Author, and Founder, ‘Here comes the sun’ said, “Even today, young people are scared and not confident enough to open up about their depression and anxiety to their friends and loved ones. It’s OK to treat this as any other health condition, it’s about time we are vocal about our emotional well-being and be mindful about those around us who are going through it and support them.”

Mallika Dua, Actor, and Comedian said, “For a long time now, mental health has been the most neglected part of our overall health. While we have focused on how we eat, how we exercise, how we should sleep on time etc., our mental health was only attended to when there was something severely wrong. And even then, it was kept under wraps. I’m so pleased that mental health conversations are starting now. We need to continue empowering people around us and bridge the gaps in mental health by destigmatizing and making support accessible to all.”

Speaking at the event, Zeenia Bastani, Brand General Manager – Maybelline New York, L’Oréal India, said, “Through Maybelline New York’s Brave Together campaign our focus has been to destigmatize mental health conversations and make free support accessible to all. Mental health conversations need to be normalized and must be had at homes, workplaces, and colleges. I am thrilled that we were able to facilitate this engaging platform for youth today.”

Maybelline New York’s Brave together campaign in partnership with the NGO Sangath, launched in September 2022 is aimed at making mental health support accessible to all. To destigmatize mental health and make support accessible to all, Maybelline New York has partnered with NGO Sangath to provide one-on-one counseling via their toll-free helpline number 011-41198666 and TheMindClan.com for expert resources. Following the launch of the Brave Together campaign on 30th August, the number of unique calls to Sangath’s helpline number increased by 57% in the month of September 2022, and 503 callers availed of free counseling services.