Vent Buddies Help People Cope With Mental Health Issues

The death of a friend, who died by suicide, prompted actress and writer Pixie Mahajan to start an Instagram page to address mental health issues and give people a platform to vent out their emotions, anonymously.

- Amrita Prasad

In about two months since its inception, the page has hundreds of members and gets several DMs daily to vent out negative feelings arising from divorces, break-ups, toxic relationships, mental health issues, etc. “This platform is free for all,” shares Pixie, adding, “While anonymity is maintained, there are also people who come forth and join the live sessions I conduct regularly with mental health experts and counsellors.”

Remember the critically-acclaimed short film, Listener, featuring Kumud Mishra, where the actor’s character was paid to listen to strangers sharing their frustrations and complaining about their day-to-day problems, without any reaction or judgement? The short film highlighted mental health issues, loneliness, human needs, insecurities and how the growing lack of human interaction or patient listeners is impacting happiness. The pandemic has intensified this, leaving us craving for human interactions, friendships and ‘vent buddies’, who can help us offload our worries.

WHAT’S A VENT BUDDY?