Common Ground Podcast, Episode 55
Guest: Veena Chugh
Written By: D.J. Reiter
What does it take to ask for help before you reach a breaking point, and what happens
when you don’t? That question runs through Episode 55 of the Common Ground
Podcast, where hosts Philly and Sydney Nicole welcome Veena Chugh, a TEDx
speaker, author, and mental health advocate, for an unusually honest conversation
about depression, self-acceptance, and the quiet work of healing.
Veena is the CEO of Arthaa Advisors and the author of A Pink Rose and Other Short
Stories. After twenty years in corporate HR leadership, she turned her own history with
depression, including a suicide attempt in her teens, into a mission built around mental
health awareness. Her TEDx talk shares that story directly; in this episode, she goes
further, walking through what led to that point, what stopped her, and what she has
learned about healing in the decades since.
A Breaking Point That Came From Everywhere at Once
Veena traces her struggles back to her teen years, when insomnia, emotional outbursts,
and a family financial crisis collided with a breakup and a deep uncertainty about her
own identity. She didn’t have language for what she was experiencing at the time; she
just knew she didn’t want to live anymore. Looking back now, her clearest reflection isn’t
about what stopped her that day; it’s about what came before it. “I think probably I would
have asked for help much earlier,” she says, “than even allowing myself to think to take
that action.
Yoga, Journaling, and a Blend of Eastern and Western Healing
When Veena finally told her parents she wasn’t okay, her family doctor didn’t reach for
medication. Given her age, he prescribed yoga instead, along with a general
encouragement to seek support, and that recommendation opened a door. Around the
same time, Veena started writing down her thoughts with no real plan behind it, just a
pen, paper, and the need to get something out of her head. She didn’t realize it at the
time, but she had stumbled into journaling as a genuine healing tool, one she still uses
today alongside prayer and meditation.
Is Mental Health Ever “Just an Excuse?”
The episode’s most pointed exchange happens when Philly argues that mental health
has become an easy label, one people reach for instead of building resilience or faith.
Sydney pushes back with nuance: she agrees the language can be misused as a
crutch, but insists that real suffering, especially in people who were never taught how to
regulate their emotions, is not the same thing as an excuse. Veena, listening to both
sides, lands somewhere in the middle. Her takeaway is that the real common ground
isn’t a label at all; it’s self-awareness, having the honesty to notice when something
inside you needs attention before it builds into something bigger.
The Real Takeaway: Check on People, and Ask for Help Sooner
Sydney’s closing point may be the episode’s most important: a lack of a suicide attempt
doesn’t mean a lack of real danger. Many people who are struggling never reach the
point of crisis that prompts someone to intervene, not because they’re fine, but because
they don’t know how to ask. Her advice is simple and direct: check on the people in your
life going through something hard, even when they haven’t asked you to. And to anyone
who has been through a breakdown themselves, she offers a reframe: surviving it
doesn’t disqualify your purpose; it becomes part of your ability to help someone else
survive theirs.
Key Takeaways
● A lack of an attempt doesn’t mean a lack of danger. Check on the people in your
life who are struggling, even if they haven’t reached out first.
● Self-awareness, not a label, is the real common ground. Whether you call it
depression, burnout, or exhaustion, healing starts with honestly naming what’s
happening inside you.
● Healing rarely comes from one single fix. Veena’s path combined yoga,
journaling, prayer, and eventually opening up to the people around her.
● A breakdown doesn’t disqualify your purpose. Lived experience, including your
lowest moments, can become the thing that helps someone else.
● Over-communication beats under-communication. The small, everyday feelings
that go unspoken are often what quietly builds into something much bigger.
Reflection Questions
Have you ever needed help but didn’t know how to ask for it? What, or who, eventually
helped you find the words?
The hosts disagree about whether mental health struggles are sometimes used as an
excuse. Where do you land in that conversation?
Veena’s healing combined yoga, journaling, prayer, and eventually opening up to her
parents. What tools do you turn to when you’re struggling?
Sydney’s key takeaway is that a lack of an attempt doesn’t mean a lack of danger. Is
there someone in your life you’ve been meaning to check on?
If you could go back and tell your younger self one thing, the way Veena did, what
would it be?
To connect with Veena Chugh, follow her on Instagram (@chugh.veena), Facebook
(https://www.facebook.com/veena.chugh.3), or LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/veenachugh), where she shares more about her TEDx
talk and her writing.
Listen to the full conversation on Episode 55 of the Common Ground Podcast.
If this episode brings up anything difficult for you, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is
available by call or text, any time.
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