"Declaring Myself...": Edelweiss's Radhika Gupta On Her Changed Outlook On Mental Health

Radhika Gupta, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Edelweiss Asset Management Company (AMC), took to X, formerly Twitter, on the occasion of World Mental Health Day to speak about the incident that "changed her life". She said that acknowledging the fact that she had a birth complication which left her neck with a permanent tilt and declaring herself "The Girl with a Broken Neck" changed her entire perspective. 

In a post, Ms Gupta said, "Five years ago, declaring myself "The Girl with a Broken Neck" changed my life, and also my perspective on mental health. Each one of us leads two lives. One on the front of the stage - what people see, in control, problem free. And one behind the stage - what no one sees, chaotic, full of heartache, failure and frustration."

Five years ago, declaring myself "The Girl with a Broken Neck" changed my life, and also my perspective on mental health.

Each one of us leads two lives. One on the front of the stage - what people see, in control, problem free. And one behind the stage - what no one sees,… pic.twitter.com/uUsOTWTq21

— Radhika Gupta (@iRadhikaGupta) October 10, 2023

She added that there are two important things one needs to remember. Firstly, "Backstage is normal, and never compare your backstage with someone else's front stage. And never be afraid to share your backstage feelings." Secondly, she said, that people should be empathetic towards others. "As a colleague, friend and person, do remember that other people have a backstage, and you don't know messy it really is. Try to see what is invisible, and listen to what is unspoken," she added. 

Concluding the post, the CEO stated that "everyone needs help and it is ok to ask for it". 

Since being shared, her post has amassed over 28,000 views on the social media network.

"My heartfelt respect for the empathy that is beautifully put into words . Hats off for your own struggle for excellence in life. Most admirable Mam!" remarked a user.

Another user added, "Beautifully put in words. Backstage struggles are not known unless they narrate them."

"Well said," said another user.

A few months ago, Ms Gupta took to social media to share a post about managing her little one along with office work and said that "a little bit of planning, a lot of patience and a problem-solving attitude make things work". She returned to work in August 2022, six weeks after giving birth to a baby boy. 

The CEO said that she is fortunate to bring her son with a lot of help. However, one day, both parents had to go to work, so she found a simple solution for the same. She wrote, "But today, both us parents had to go to work, and the situation at home was tricky... so what did we do? Bring 6-month-old Remy to work. It felt like deja vu. He rolled, laughed and loved chilling in my cabin as I did my meetings." She added that her colleagues greeted her son with love and affection.