School of Sanity is LIVE!

Hi there,

With much trepidation and a wee bit of excitement, I'm announcing today the launch of 'School of Sanity' – an interactive online learning space for people who want to explore the exciting, urgent, and high-stakes intersection of mental health, work, culture, money, and technology – but don't know where to begin.

Click here to explore and book your place at the inaugural session on one of my favourite topics: a brief (explosive) history of lived experience. I've delivered this popular session for the past two years as part of a mental health leadership programme with participants from around the world. Now I am opening it up to a limited audience, and I'd love for you to be in it. Don't forget to claim the special discount for the first 7 Sanity readers who register on this link. Use the code FriendsOfSanity at check out. <THIS EVENT IS NOW OVER. STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES ON FUTURE SESSIONS.>

Also click here to stay updated on all future session plans and early bird discounts. Scroll down for more details on the idea behind School of Sanity, and why I am doing this. And don't forget to forward this newsletter to anyone who might find it useful. Thanks!

Who is School of Sanity for?

Mental health professionals, social workers, researchers, policymakers, investors, funders, entrepreneurs, students, lived experience experts, caregivers, advocates, writers, creators, and folks curious about the global mental health movement anywhere in the world.

What will you get out of it?

• Access exclusive online interactive sessions, workshops, curated research and readings, and more to help you make sense of the biggest currents shaping the global mental health sector – from the rise of AI-driven 'therapy' bots to the evolution of workplace mental health.
• Learn to identify and challenge myths about mental health
• Think, write, and communicate better about mental health and its intersections with work, culture, money, and technology
• Connect with and learn from a global community, eg the one I've built for Sanity spanning 50 countries across six continents
• Apply what you learn to advocate for change, eg, by developing better workplace mental health programmes or ethical technology solutions

Why am I doing this?

From living with chronic mental illness, self-harm, and suicidality

to losing my job in the middle of the pandemic

to building the only non-Western health-related newsletter on Substack's list of top paid newsletters

to landing a fellowship in Oxford

to running a mental health storytelling platform with readers across the world,

it's been a bonkers three years. I've been extremely fortunate to learn from some very wise and generous folks. I haven't got it all figured out, but I've picked up insights along the way that don't exist in any textbook and will hopefully help you if you believe that mental health isn't just about popping pills or going to therapy.

There's another reason I'm doing this. I started my career as a teacher, and writing apart, teaching and mentoring is like oxygen to me. While Soon of Sanity won't be about academic lectures, it'll allow me to get back to a structured, collegial learning environment. What's not to love!

People who've attended my sessions in the past say...

"Thanks Tanmoy for reshaping the discussion around lived experience. Since we are in throes of the beginning of this movement of transparency, we will have to accept the distress and unease that comes along with inclusivity."

"The way you introduced the fish pamphlet in the beginning was a really interesting and novel way of looking at 'the struggle' of those going through mental health conditions. It really helps reshape the narrative from a passive victim to an active and empowered survivor. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the subject!"

Hi, I am Tanmoy

I am a lived experience expert and creator of Sanity by Tanmoy, an independent mental health storytelling platform, which has subscribers in over 50 countries.

I love teaching and mentoring, and have spoken and delivered sessions at forums including the University of Amsterdam; the Vedica Scholars Programme for Women; Knight Centre for Journalism, University of Texas, Austin; and King's College, London.

My work has been featured on, and I have been quoted in, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, IJ Net, Times of India, The Economic Times, Forbes, Poynter, and Suno India, among others. I’ve also written for global publications including The Mekong Review, Griffith Review, Business Insider, and Welcome to the Jungle.

I'm a past fellow of the Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford and a LinkedIn Top Voice in Social Impact, and I sit on lived experience panels and committees across the world. I’ve co-authored a paper in the Lancet Psychiatry and serve as an advisor to the Keshav Desiraju Indian Mental Health Observatory at the Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy.

Join me at the School of Sanity, and please forward this to anyone who might find it interesting. See you soon.