Candid and confident, Shreeya Giri founded the digital mental health platform Happy Minds. For this initiative, she was named in the prestigious Forbes magazine’s 30 under 30, 2024 edition, under the social impact category.

An advocate of mental health, Giri believes in immersing oneself in the journey of self-betterment.

Bonding over judging books by their covers and discussing intriguing mental health reads in an interview with the Post’s Anusha Dhakal, Giri shares her love for the self-help genre and how books helped her grow as a person.

What do you recall as the first book you ever read?

I only started reading after my bachelor's, actually. My first book was 'The Path of Least Resistance,' which was gifted to me by a close friend after graduation. My friend knew I was facing dilemmas about what I wanted to do with my life, and that there was something bigger calling me that I couldn’t yet identify. This book is special to me for this reason, it is so special that I can't bring myself to let people borrow it!

Have you ever come across a book that changed you or impacted you immensely?

‘Think Like a Monk’ by Jay Shetty means a lot to me. I brought it back from London during what I recall as the most difficult time. During this period, I was deeply entangled in negative cycles. I would look into the mirror and only see my dark circles, my hair, and my body, and only think about how much I disliked my appearance. I often wondered why people drained me so much and so often.

While reading the book, I felt as if it was written for me. It teaches you to reconstruct your thinking into more positive patterns. Another key takeaway for me was the importance of gratitude. It’s easy to be grateful towards nature or God, but we are seldom grateful towards ourselves. After reading this book, I have been practising self-gratitude.

I don’t consider myself a religious person because, growing up, religion felt like it demanded faith without explanation. Interestingly, I was introduced to the word “dharma” through this book. I understood that the true purpose of life is to self-love without expectations.

Shetty makes an intriguing distinction in the book between a monk’s mind and a monkey's mind. At my lowest point, I had a monkey mind, blaming everyone but myself for my circumstances, which filled me with negative energy. Eventually, I began letting go of such energy.

Looking back, all of the suffering and rejections make sense. Without them, I wouldn’t be here at Happy Minds, doing what I do.

I know Jay Shetty is a controversial figure, but I believe there’s always something to learn from someone. I am a believer in separating the art from the artist.

Do you think storytelling plays a role in healing?

It plays a huge role, actually, both personally and collectively. After my Forbes feature, I was invited to give long-form interviews, during which I shared my life experiences with the utmost vulnerability. Organically, through media coverage of my story, more than 120 people signed up for therapy at Happy Minds.

This alone is proof that storytelling possesses a unique power to make people feel seen and seek help.

Have you ever considered writing a book of your own, perhaps in the self-help genre? As you are more connected to this category.

Yes, I have considered it. My friend and I were planning to do so, but I had to drop out due to my poor mental health at the time. She went on to publish a book on feminine energy, which someone stole from the office. Isn’t that amazing? It was so good that someone stole it—what a compliment.

If I were to write a book, it would be on psychology and well-being. I have a lot to share about my story. I’ve noticed that telling my story through public speaking and interview formats feels too limiting, so I think I will write a book highlighting my life experiences, which hopefully reaches more people.

Is there a book you recommend to your colleagues and clients at Happy Minds?

I frequently recommend ‘Maybe You Should Talk to Someone’. However, I couldn’t finish it because it was very triggering. The book, written by a therapist, offers insights into the frameworks therapists use and how they perceive their clients’ opinions and experiences. It’s a very interesting book, revealing the kinds of conversations therapists encounter during therapy sessions.

There is a fascinating part in the book where a therapist is conversing with a convicted murderer. In the conversation, it appears that the person committed the act in a brief, emotionally charged moment. As the conversation progresses, it becomes evident that this person is very emotional and intuitive, almost a good person.

It might be jarring for some to think about how a murderer could seem good, but the book provides an interesting perspective: that humans are neither wholly good nor wholly bad.

I’ve also often contemplated the challenges faced by therapists, particularly their ability to shoulder not only the burdens of their clients but also their own. Does the book discuss how therapists maintain this delicate balance, continuously listening to others while managing their life challenges?

It does, actually. Therapists are also people; they carry their past and their traumas. Sometimes, a client’s story can reflect the therapist’s personal experiences or traumas. This raises a question: Are therapists in a position to set boundaries when something like this happens? The book discusses this situation.

Therapy has steps, the first of which is assessment, where we examine the client’s case history. This helps us understand the client’s story and expectations. Therapists should recognise that the client’s story is separate from their own.

This is why we request a case history at Happy Minds before assigning a client to a therapist. Similarly, having a similar life experience to a client doesn’t mean you shouldn’t see the client.

Is there a book that has increased your self-awareness and self-knowledge?

‘The Body Keeps the Score’ is a book that has increased my self-knowledge. Through this book, I learnt something that was almost a revelation. This book talks about how your brain, as a defence mechanism, erases your memory post-trauma.

This book helps you sit down and self-reflect, reviving your memories by connecting the dots. Hypnotherapy has also been useful in this endeavour. Through this process, I have been able to recover many childhood memories. To be honest, my childhood was not entirely bad, and I can now recollect the good memories as well.

Shreeya Giri’s book recommendations

Embodying Feminine Energy

Author: Maria Toman

Publisher: Independently published

Year: 2022

‘Embodying Feminine Energy’ is about building yourself as a magnetic force that attracts positivity and exploring best practices for recovering mentally, emotionally, and physically from trauma.

The Body Keeps the Score

Author: Bessel Van Der Kolk

Publisher: Penguin Books

Year: 2014

Kolk’s book helps you understand how trauma might be affecting the way you see yourself, respond to experiences, and react to them. When unresolved, trauma has a deep impact on your well-being.

Think Like a Monk

Author: Jay Shetty

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year: 2020

‘Think Like a Monk’ is about building yourself as a magnetic force that attracts positivity and exploring best practices for recovering mentally, emotionally, and physically from trauma.

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?

Author: Dr Juie Smith

Publisher: Penguin Books

Year: 2022

This book explores different coping strategies to improve self-confidence, anxiety, failures, depression and more. There are guided action items for those looking to better their well-being.

Inner Engineering

Author: Sadhguru

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau

Year: 2016

I recommend this book because it provides a holistic approach to achieving inner peace and well-being by exploring the interconnectedness of mind, body, and the cosmos. It is a great way to explore the relation between the mind and the body.