Our Indian partner WeQip - the emotional wellness platform - tells all

Saumya, founder of our partner organization WeQip, tells us about how she first came up with the idea and what WeQip has become. Discover it all in this interview!

Insane: Please share a brief background about yourself.

I am an Indian – born and raised in a beautiful diverse country I know as home. I studied to become an Engineer, completed my Master’s in Business Administration and worked for a few years in multi-national corporations. Thereafter, I started becoming increasingly fascinated by the field of psychology – both organizational and clinical. That’s when I re-enrolled in a college – became a student again and earned my doctorate in psychology.

Insane: What makes you so passionate about the cause of mental health?

While I was initially focussed on organizational psychology, the birth of my second child led me to have postpartum depression. I was taken aback with the emotions I was feeling and eventually sought professional help. It was then I realized that in a world where almost 1 in every 5 individuals suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives, there aren’t enough outlets for us to express what we are experiencing. This is what drives me today.

Insane: What is ‘WEQIP’?

WEQIP is a self-publishing contributor-led mental wellness digital platform. This global digital platform is created for mental health and emotional wellness warriors – enabling them to tell their stories and share ideas around mental and behavioural health and emotional wellness.

Our digital platform for sharing stories, ideas and insights is completely collaborative in nature and our stories are of people, by people, and most importantly for people. They are for those of us whose life is touched by emotional or behavioural health issue at any point in time in their life – a parent, a teacher, a manager, a child, an IT professional, an actor, a housewife, an HR executive, an artist, a friend – to name a few.

We also encourage experts, professionals and mental health warriors from various backgrounds to share their knowledge and experiences through this platform.

The ideas can take any form – art, essay, story, poem, interview, showcase, spotlight, or a straightforward article. The content becomes more enriched as we go along this collaborative journey.

Insane: How did the idea of WEQIP come about?

While trying to read (and write) about mental health issues and related articles, I didn’t come across a platform which was a contributor-led single stop for such articles. We only have websites where one small section is devoted to mental health issues. Hence, WEQIP was born to bridge that gap. This is a place where anyone with a mental health story or insight can join the platform and share their accounts and articles.

Insane: What does the word ‘WEQIP’ stand for?

While trying to come up with a name, I wanted a unique name which is difficult to forget. WEQIP has many connotations – it means ‘Equipping Wellness’, it means ‘Emotional Wellness’. The E and I in in WEQIP stands for Emotional Intelligence and the short form we use is ‘WE’ which reflects our community of mental health warriors and even stands for wellness.

Insane: What does ‘WEQIP’ look like? What kind of content is included in it and what sections

are there on the website?

We have three categories of digital publications:

• WE BLOG: All the content submitted by our contributors or created by us, appears as WE BLOG.

• WE MAG: WE MAG is a digital bimonthly magazine for emotional wellness. Certain top-quality, trending pieces from WE BLOG as well as new ones are selected, brought together and designed as an e-magazine.

• WE FEATURE: We are on regular look out for stories/ projects/ initiatives which inspire hope, resilience and positivity. These stories are covered and put together by our in-house team and these posts appear under the WE FEATURE category.

Our content takes the form of articles, thought pieces, listicles, poems, stories, interviews, book/movie reviews and even artwork.

Insane: What has been the response to ‘WEQIP’ so far?

The uniqueness of this platform is something we hear a lot about. We are excited how the youth is using this platform to share their insights and stories. Youth is our future and if we are able to touch them, impact them, we believe we are on the right path.

Insane: How can people across geographies access ‘WEQIP’?

WEQIP is a secure site which can be accessed from all across the globe. Our content is in English and hence can be read and understood by a large chunk of the world’s population.

Insane: What would be your message to those who are fighting with mental health issues?

The most important thing to remember is that you are not alone – there are others who are going through similar issues. Also, it is crucial to acknowledge and express your feelings – because they are valid. And most importantly, though it may not seem like it, this too shall pass.

Dr. Saumya Goyal is a mental health evangelist who focuses on the importance of emotional wellness across generations and genders. She has been in various corporate roles and eventually founded WEQIP™ with an aim to spread awareness and remove stigma around mental health to help individuals embrace emotional wellness efficiently. She believes in educating youth on the importance of strong mental health.

She holds a PhD in psychology and is a gold medalist with dual master’s degree in management and psychology, post her bachelor’s in engineering. She has published her work in leading national and

international journals and regularly writes articles, blogs and poems on women’s issues, parenting and emotional health. Unhustle - a poetry book on hope, nature, mental health and self-love is her first book. She lives in Hyderabad, India.