Mental health needs attention all year, not one month, says Pune science educator Gayatri Kshirsagar

Pune, October 31, 2026: October is regarded as mental health awareness month. It has now ended, but the conversation on mental health should not be limited to one month, one campaign or one awareness day, Gayatri Kshirsagar has said. She says attention, empathy and action are needed throughout the year.

According to Kshirsagar, mental well-being does not depend only on how one feels. It is also affected by the environment in which one grows up, the relationships one forms and how people treat one.

She gave some examples: a child facing bullying, a teenager struggling with peer pressure, parents balancing responsibilities, teachers managing the expectations of their institution, and an employee finding a way through workplace politics. The challenges before each of them differ, but the need is the same: to be heard, to be respected and to be valued.

She says her understanding of empathy was shaped by an experience some years ago, when she was selected as a #Peace_Ambassador by the Leela Poonawalla Foundation - India. During training on leadership and sustainability at the ASHA Centre in the United Kingdom, she got the chance to speak to adults from different countries. They included people whose lives had been affected by #conflicts and #war.

Those conversations made her realise that empathy is not merely feeling sorry for someone. It is trying to understand experiences different from one's own.

Kshirsagar is a mother and has more than 12 years of experience in science communication, education, programme management and partnerships. She often reflects on how deeply the surrounding environment affects emotional well-being. She firmly believes that accountability (#accountability) and empathy (#empathy) must go together.

She says schools, workplaces and other institutions need environments where people can express themselves freely, disagree respectfully, have their work recognised and move forward without becoming disheartened.

She asks whether, just as institutions have a #POSH policy and internal committees, mental well-being should not also get serious attention. For this, she feels, there must be concrete support systems, access to professional guidance and a culture to match.

Over the years, she has come to understand that positions and circumstances can change, but the effect of how we make people feel, and the opportunities we create, lasts a long time. Good leaders do not merely build successful programmes or institutions, she notes, but build people, confidence and opportunities.

She ends with a question for readers: what does empathy mean to you, and how can it be practised more meaningfully in our schools, families and workplaces? She hopes every month reminds us to practise empathy.

Kshirsagar is a professional in science education and outreach, with more than 12 years of experience in STEM education, science communication and capacity building. She has worked extensively to make science education easier and more engaging, especially for disadvantaged and rural students. Her work focuses on designing and implementing STEM initiatives, building teachers' capacity through professional development programmes, and creating opportunities for children to explore science through experiment-based and inquiry-based learning.