A hundred is a cricketer’s dream. It’s what they work toward – all those hours in the nets, those relentless practice sessions, braving the trolling just to score that hundred.
And that’s how it feels for The MyndStories Podcast to have scored a hundred.
The episode, ‘Parenting Neurodivergent Children With Love And Understanding’ with Dr. Supriya Malik, was the 100th episode of the podcast.
The MyndStories Podcast was started with a simple yet powerful hope: To create a safe space.
A space to understand your fears and doubts and to give you a glimpse of the incredible potential you possess.
Covering these 100 episodes was difficult for me as I didn’t want to just celebrate the number but to reflect on what it really meant for a mental health platform. So, I turned to the people who made this journey possible – the guests and the hosts.
I asked them how they felt after sharing their stories on the podcast.
The responses? Raw, unfiltered, and deeply moving.
“It did not feel like I was doing a podcast.”
“The session felt almost like therapy.”
“It made me delve deeper into my mind, my mindset, even the darker spaces I reside in.”
“I didn’t know I could open up so much to a stranger.”
A space for all stories
Mental health is vast, complex, and deeply personal. There are stories that are whispered, stories that are hidden, stories that are waiting to be told.
The MyndStories guests used the space to share stories of courage forged in tears. Like Shilpa Kulkarni and Geetha Balagopal, who lost their children to suicide.
Geetha says, “Mental health is not a curse or a result of sins from a past life, but it is a disease – a cruel, insidious disease which causes a person to take their own life and impacts millions of people who loved them. By sharing my story of losing my daughter to suicide, I wanted to just save one person from taking their own life. I wanted to help one family to navigate their loss and grief. And help other families to understand that they did nothing wrong and that they don’t have to spend the rest of their lives living in shame and grief.”
Her podcast is the second-most downloaded episode on the show.
Then, there were stories about struggles society often ignores.
Infertility, for example, is an experience that can be physically, emotionally, and mentally devastating yet remains largely unspoken. Snigdha Ghosh Roy, who pointed out this silence, shared, “I wanted to share my story so that those who feel alone in their struggles can listen, learn, and find support. Sometimes, just knowing you’re not alone makes all the difference.”
Or the social stigma of choosing to stay single, as shared by Sumaa Tekur, a topic that never fails to raise eyebrows.
There’s kindness, too. How can we make kindness the focus of our lives? Nirmala Peters Mehendale reflected on this, showing us that even small acts of kindness can shift how we experience the world.
These stories had one common thread: Being vulnerable is not a weakness. It is an act of courage.
As Dr. Mahima Sahi, who spoke about neurodivergence, beautifully put it, “Conversations like these make mental health less intimidating and more approachable.”
Impact beyond the mic
The beauty of these conversations? They don’t end when the recording stops. Once uploaded, shared, and listened to, they continue to ripple outward, helping people think, unlearn, and heal.
Sumit Singla summed it up perfectly: “For grey-haired folks like me, therapy and mental health were always taboo. The more we embrace these conversations, the easier it will be for those who need support.”
Sometimes, the effect is not even evident. Sometimes, it’s just the comfort of knowing you’re not alone. It’s in the quiet moments when someone finds solace in a stranger’s words.
For Chaithra MJ, it was the first time they shared their story with the world and felt truly seen and heard.
For Ishaa Vinod Chopra, the podcast was important to break stigma. “This podcast is essential to breaking down barriers—not just for those with lived experiences, but for caregivers, friends, and even the ‘OTHERS’ who refuse to understand mental health.”
No matter what, the goal remains the same: To use stories to dismantle stigma.
Or, as Shantesh Row puts it, it is not stigma but a lack of awareness. He says, “What Smitha and MyndStories do via the podcasts is to talk about things people don’t talk about or don’t have a platform to speak on. That itself is enough because it offers a voice to voices that need to be heard. We all find some courage, hope, laughter, and perspective from all the guests – and hence this is a fabulous initiative.”
Just breaking the silence can make all the difference, as Garima Behal aptly stated.
The people behind the mic
Of course, these conversations wouldn’t have been possible without the people holding the space.
Smitha Murthy, who hosts The Therapy Room and MyndStories Minis, reflected on her journey and said, “I believe that mental health is not just about the “big” moments—diagnoses, therapy sessions, or crises. It’s also about the everyday—the way we talk to ourselves, the stories we tell, and the small moments of connection that help us feel seen. I am blessed to have fellow hosts who are friends, forming indescribable connections and bonds through this shared creative space.”
Swati, who hosts The MyndReaders, loves how books bring people together and how the same story can mean different things to different people. For Ankit Narasimhan, who hosts some episodes of The Therapy Room, talking with therapists helps him understand his own life and relationships better. “I always believed that audio is the way to reach more people,” he says.
Anitha Aswath, the host of MyndDurbar, believes in the healing power of music. The podcast came to life after a chance encounter with Smitha, who asked her to create music podcasts, instead of storytelling podcasts. The result is that the MyndDurbar episodes, which are released once a month, occupy the Top 10 on the all-time list.
Looking ahead
100 episodes.
One hundred times someone felt safe enough to open up, when someone felt that what they’re feeling is normal and not everything needs to be “fixed.”
The MyndStories Podcast is more than just a podcast. It’s a movement—a movement of voices, vulnerability, and validation.
Like Snigdha perfectly put it: “A space where vulnerability has a voice.”
And the podcast promises to keep making space for more voices, more stories, and more courage.
