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Srinagar : At a time when conversations around mental health and emotional wellbeing are gradually gaining visibility in Kashmir, Kupwara-born clinical psychologist and holistic wellness practitioner Shazana Anjum is working to take the discussion beyond awareness and towards community-based support.
Professionally based in Srinagar, Shazana has a background in Clinical Psychology and is also a Certified Holistic Healer, Nutritionist and Naturopath. Through her work under Shazana Holistic Therapy, she focuses on emotional wellbeing and the relationship between psychological, physical and behavioural aspects of an individual’s life.
Her work places particular emphasis on helping individuals understand emotional responses, recurring behavioural patterns and experiences that may influence relationships and everyday functioning.
Shazana also focuses on nervous-system regulation and emotional awareness, encouraging individuals to understand the connection between prolonged stress, emotional experiences and physical responses.
She believes emotions such as anxiety, anger, shame and bitterness can sometimes indicate unresolved experiences, unmet needs or difficulties with personal boundaries, and that greater self-awareness can help individuals recognise such patterns.
A significant part of her work is centred on women’s emotional wellbeing.
According to Sahazana, women often manage multiple family and social responsibilities while having limited opportunities to discuss their own emotional needs and personal aspirations. She encourages women to look beyond their traditional social roles and pay greater attention to their emotional wellbeing, boundaries and individual identity.
Recently, a Women’s Emotional Wellness Workshop was held in Kupwara, providing participants an opportunity to engage in discussions around emotional awareness, self-reflection and personal wellbeing.
For Sahazana, who traces her roots to Kupwara, taking the initiative to her home district was also part of her broader effort to make conversations around emotional wellbeing more accessible at the community level.
She says awareness alone is not sufficient and that greater emphasis is required on creating practical avenues through which people can access appropriate support.
Her proposed areas of community engagement include women-focused wellness programmes, mental-health awareness sessions, educational initiatives in schools and colleges, workplace wellbeing programmes, trauma-informed awareness activities and collaborations with professionals and organisations working in the field.
Shazana also advocates greater collaboration between mental-health professionals, educational institutions, NGOs, women’s organisations and community-based initiatives to develop programmes suited to local needs.
While social media has become an important platform for mental-health awareness, she believes conversations also need to move into workshops, educational institutions and community spaces.
“ You don’t need to be at your worst to deserve support. You’re allowed to seek therapy simply because you want to understand yourself better,” she says.
Through online appointments and community outreach initiatives, Anjum is also seeking to extend her work beyond Srinagar and Kupwara.
Her focus, she says, is on creating spaces where people particularly women can discuss emotional wellbeing without stigma, develop greater self-understanding and recognise when professional support may be required.
With the next Women’s Emotional Wellness Workshop open for enrolment, Shazana is looking to expand her outreach and collaborate with individuals and organisations working in mental health, women’s wellbeing, education and community development.
Her journey from Kupwara to Srinagar reflects an effort to bring emotional wellness into wider community conversations across Kashmir, with the focus shifting from awareness alone towards accessible information, reflection and support.
