Woman Claims Mumbai Mental Health NGO Made Her Work Through Period Pain; Internet Reacts Strongly

A troubling account shared online has sparked discussion about burnout within organisations meant to champion mental health.A woman based in Mumbai, who worked with an NGO focused on mental well-being, took to Reddit to describe what she called a deeply unsupportive work culture. She posted a screenshot of a WhatsApp exchange in which she requested help covering a one-hour Sunday workshop due to intense menstrual pain, writing: “Can someone please take my workshop tomorrow? I have been in pain so I really need rest. Thanks."Instead of empathy, she said the reply from the organisation’s director was curt: “Please don’t cancel workshops every week, it reflects bad on us."Highlighting the irony, the woman wrote that there was no concern for her health or acknowledgement

of her recent efforts. “No ‘take care’ or ‘it’s fine.’ No feedback on our work yesterday and the day before. This is an NGO in Mumbai which works for suicide prevention and mental health. This is our reality," she said.According to her post, the NGO conducts online workshops every Sunday, even though employees already work from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 4 pm. That same week, she had also attended a mandatory two-day training programme at a college on Friday and Saturday, from 9 am to 4:30 pm both days.

This is an NGO for mental health awareness btw byu/ElliottGrayy inIndianWorkplace

Despite being unwell, she said she felt compelled to push through. “I had no choice but to attend, despite dying from the pain because of my period but I still finished my responsibilities," she wrote.Clarifying the situation further in the comments, she added, “No workshop was cancelled. 2 were postponed due to issues from the other end, and once the team had gone to Pune for a conference and were unavailable."The post resonated with several users, many of whom shared similar experiences. One commenter recalled, “I remember working for a mental health startup and boy, it has the worst, terrible work life balance. I was making a module for grounding exercises with positive affirmations during my panic attacks. It was hilarious if I think about it. Tell them you can’t do it. What’s the worst that could happen if you don’t?"Another user was more blunt, saying, “Trust me, they’re in it for the money."A separate comment summed up the sentiment with, “That’s so ironic."In an update, the woman revealed that another colleague eventually stepped in to conduct the workshop. She also shared that she is now serving her notice period, having decided to quit the organisation following the incident.