[100 Emerging Women Leaders] How Aishwarya Jain is making mental well-being support more accessible and inclusive

The Nirbhaya case in India, back in 2012, left all of us horrified and outraged at the face of humanity. Aishwarya Jain—an engineering student then—could not fathom why someone would commit such an act. 

Two years later, the incident continued to disturb her. The impact was so significant that she decided to visit Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat to research the psychology behind such crimes. 

From there on, Jain took an interest in cognitive psychology and was fascinated by the workings of the brain. 

She shares, “I figured that we can train the brain in simple ways to make us do what we really want to, such as how we train our minds to learn guitar or languages. Be it living a peaceful life, sleeping well, or anything that we desire, it is totally in our hands.”  

With this motivation, Jain's journey to make everyone realise the wonders of the workings of the brain began. 

Thinktank on happiness

In 2020, she founded IM Happiness, a research and think tank lab on overall happiness and cognitive fitness. 

The idea behind IM Happiness is to positively train the mind by utilising the concepts of science and spirituality and work towards aligning mind, body and soul. 

The team of IM Happiness has worked on mental well-being in the rural segment with the help of partnerships with the Department of Health and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

During COVID-19, the team had set up more than 20,000 ‘happiness camps’ across Gujarat. These camps provided support to the people who were struggling mentally and physically. 

Hello Happiness

Currently, IM Happiness is running a yearly campaign called ‘Hello Happiness’. The idea behind the campaign is to make mentorship available free to those in need. 

The campaign has around 40 mentors, such as actor Pratik Gandhi, neurologist and content creator Siddharth Warrier, and comedian Abhishek Upmanyu. 

These mentors draw inspiration from their experiences and guide people in dealing with similar issues they have faced.  

After careful evaluation done by a team of doctors and psychologists, the required support is provided to the applicants.

Jain states, “We have a team of more than 12 people working with us. At present, we have more than 4,000 community members. We have also been extensively increasing our associations.”

Jain recommends women leaders practice self-love and gratitude. 

To alter one's perspective, she also suggests a strategy she practices herself—giving up some vital things to understand their true value. She says, “Try giving up water for a day, and you will realise how lucky you are to have it in the first place. It is all about perspective.” 

“At the end of the day, if you are happy and you love yourself, you will automatically radiate that energy,” she signs off.