- Angel D’ Souza has recently launched the first mental health cafe in mohali.
- It aims to serve delicious foods while raising awareness about mental health.
A 2021 survey conducted by the Indian Psychiatry Society mentioned that India has seen a 20% increase in mental health illnesses, specifically since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. However, today’s young generation is now coming forward and spreading mental health awareness in various ways.
Angel D’ Souza, a psychology graduate, has recently launched the first mental health cafe ‘Your Sugar Daddy’ in Chandigarh’s Mohali. Her primary aim is to perfectly combine delicious foods and beverages with mental well-being and provide a safe and judgment-free environment for its customers where they can share their feelings with each other.
Angel completed her graduation from the University of British Columbia in Canada, as mentioned in The Logical Indian. Being a food enthusiast, she always dreamt of using delicious food in an innovative way to spread mental health awareness. “The cafe will cater to mental health in a variety of ways, in ways that it will not project mental health as a stigma,” she said.
‘Your Sugar Daddy’ is now all set to organize various types of mental health workshops that will include different creative therapy sessions, such as art therapy, music therapy, puppy therapy, and so on. According to Angel, these workshops will immensely help in encouraging people from different age groups to join her initiative. “Amalgamating all of this with food would be a great idea because food is one of the things that brings people together,” she added.
Many studies have shown that domesticated animals play an integral role in battling mental health problems like depression and anxiety. Keeping this fact in her mind, Angel has kept her Mohali cafe pet-friendly. The customers will be requested to engage in different cognitive-based activities while they will wait for their ordered food. Depending on their comfort level, they can also have healthy and wholesome conversations with others around them.
Angel’s experience as a psychology student and researcher has enabled her to better understand humans and she wants to use this ability in the best way possible. “This is a place where you will learn, eat, enjoy and heal. This will be a fantastic experience for all of us and may also help people share their experiences when they know how normal it is to discuss mental health,” she explained her cafe’s significance.
21-year-old Angel beliefs that her initiative will make a huge difference in society by successfully addressing mental health issues. It will offer the people in the city an excellent opportunity to speak their hearts out without the fear of being judged.