Subhechcha Ganguly 
Wearing various hats as an Indian author Rakhi Kapoor takes the game to a whole new level. She is a bestselling author, pioneering physiotherapist, and fearless advocate for women’s Wellness and mental health in India. Rakhi Kapoor is the two-time recipient of the Prestigious International Golden Book Award for her books Now You Breathe and Breaking Free Embracing in the year 2023 & 2024 respectively.
Rakhi’s debut novel “The Girl Who Was Left Behind” was published in 2017. Since then Rakhi has published 26 books earning the title of a Serial Author by her publishing team. Five of her books have topped the Amazon India best seller chart in its respective categories. Rakhi Kapoor is also an entrepreneur who co-founded a popular fashion brand known as Derby Men’s Wear headquartered out of South India.
Rakhi’s books resonate with the voice of the people who struggle with mental health, narcissistic abuse, self-love, entrepreneurship and personal growth. Rakhi believes that every individual plays a significant role in the evolution and wellbeing of the human race and this planet. The purpose of her writing is to start a rebellion within her readers so that they can live life to their greatest potential. As much as Rakhi loves staying indoors engrossed in writing, she loves to travel extensively and trek mountains like the Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Circuit. Mt Kilimanjaro. She had an ethereal experience trekking Fuji San. Rakhi has great reverence for this blessed mountain, the Japanese people and their culture.
website : www.RakhiKapoor.com
Amazon author page : amazon.com/author/rakhikapoor
We welcome our Esteemed Author from India Rakhi Kapoor. She is one of the most eminent Authors in India and her books namely “ Now You Breathe “ and “Breaking Free Embracing me” have received a lot of love and appreciation from the public. The Remembrance of Great Works is a Conference that is happening in Tokyo, Japan. Let us dive deep into an interview with Author Rakhi Kapoor to know more about her books and the causes she advocates.
Q1) Author Rakhi , we are so glad to have you on this interview platform, talking about your books and the mental health causes you advocate . Tell us where did you drive this inspiration from ?
Ans : My books cover a wide spectrum of topics which reflect various aspects of my life as an author, entrepreneur & prenatal counsellor. Be it wellness, personal transformation, self-love, success, relationships; an individual can only do justice to all the above if their mental health is intact. Over the years mankind has made immense technological advancement and progress in all spheres getting trapped into a rat race. An average person is constantly running around only to meet ends meet or make things happen. The everyday stress and pressure of personal and professional commitments gets to an individual making the mind unrestful leading to a disturbed mental health.
The world stopped during the lockdown and was jump started into functioning through an alien method after Covid. Covid 19 accelerated the deterioration of an average human’s mental health status further. Everyone and everything was affected across the world. Children, adults or the elderly are dealing with the after effects of isolation, social distancing and confinement. The whole world is struggling to adapt to a way of life with artificial Intelligence and digitalisation becoming an integral part of life. Economic scenarios, businesses, and trade have been disrupted in every country, coaxing people of all walks of life to reinvent themselves. This has rattled people, distorted their personalities, escalating the strain on their mental health.
I am no exception. Hence I have been focussing on getting a grip on my mental health through awareness, introspection and transformation. My books Now You Breathe and Breaking Free Embracing Me are close to my heart as they also reflect upon my experience of overcoming trauma and abuse inflicted upon me because of a parent with compromised and unresolved mental health issues. So here I am sharing my learnings and journey through my books focusing particularly on issues like childhood trauma, abuse, and toxic relationships which are crucial factors responsible for an individual’s mental health.
Q2)Since childhood , a lot of people have faced the situation we called Toxic Conditioning of Mind . This often leads to feeling pleasure in one’s pain or even sacrificing one’s wishes for someone else’s dreams . What is your take in this situation ?
Ans The power of the human mind is invincible, unfathomable and limitless. Until this power is not harnessed no one can live a happy and content life. The answers to everything outside us starts from within. The human mind is influenced by genetics, childhood conditioning, personal experiences, and cultural influence which results in the development of an individual’s personality. It is the personality of an individual which empowers him or her to face every day of their life making the apt choices towards their personal and professional life. It is in the nascent stages of one’s life like childhood that their personality begins to develop. A personality of an individual continuously evolves through their childhood, adolescence and early adulthood establishing itself strongly in adulthood.
An individual’s behaviour patterns, habits and response to situations in life is governed by their personality. Toxic conditioning will cripple an individual’s personality with fears, remorse and trauma which are responsible for the development of low self-esteem, trust issues, lack of self-worth, self-destructive habits, unhealthy behaviour patterns, irrational decision making. All these factors will influence the individual to seek validation and approval from others and the outside world as an adult instead of feeling complete by themselves. Such an individual becomes a perineal scapegoat or victim sacrificing their dreams and needs.
A coin has two sides. The reverse can also happen. The toxic conditioning from childhood can lead to stemming of narcissistic behaviour , lack of empathy or remorse in an individual turning them in to individuals who take pleasure out of hurting others. Hurt people eventually hurt others. The deterioration of the mental health conditions of the average individual will only lead to an increased number of dysfunctional people and families. We will have a zombie apocalypse-like situation where disgruntled, bitter people will walk around devoid of emotions and gnaw at each other.
Q3) Prenatal and Postnatal Depression is real. What are your thoughts on spreading awareness on this topic ? Do you have any books on this regard ?
Ans Raising a family in the current times has become a challenge. Women are under intense pressure to balance their careers and family life. Young couples in nuclear families, single parents and women with careers find it extremely challenging to balance their professional and personal life against demands of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and parenting. A pregnant woman is given the responsibility to eat healthy, exercise, stay fit and cooperate through the childbirth process. Despite her compromised health after pregnancy and childbirth she is expected to keep awake through the nights and take care of her newborn.
Who is guiding and supporting the mother through this all process along with taking care of her mental health? Mood swings and postpartum depression are real. Women need help to deal with such issues instead of shirking it away saying it’s a common occurrence. I have written a book titled Mums Mental health and Milestones which is a holistic guide educating expecting mothers and their families about the significance of mental health, emotional nurturing and the physical well-being of mothers. The book offers new age perspective about tackling the often-neglected aspects of pregnancy like mood swings, anxiety and fear of childbirth, personal stress levels, work life pressure, postnatal blues etc. Backed up research, real life relatable, emotional case studies, activities, checklists, and diagnosis to unravel a new perspective towards motherhood.
Mums, Mental Health and Milestones : A Guide for Expecting Parents on Holistic Well-being https://amzn.in/d/bNq5liT
Q5) Is there any current book that you are writing on mental health and aligned topics? Tell us a bit about it.
Ans. A dear friend of mine who has been a great support in spreading awareness about my book Now You Breathe requested me to rewrite my books on mental health through works of fiction. Storytelling has always been a powerful medium of generating awareness from the beginning of time. I have a fun filled, witty wisdom laden light read slated for publishing soon.
It is the story of a young woman discovering herself by navigating her way through her personal life, professional aspirations and relationships finally finding the balance between how much of herself she needs to give to the world and her loved ones against what will it take to draw her boundaries and respect her own needs so that she is happy in her own skin. It’s the story of most young women who are looking for love, they seek it through romance, looking for belonging in a marriage or a committed relationship, seeking validation and importance by giving and nurturing their family members. The incidence of young women ending up getting disappointed is only leading to more broken relationships, divorces and damaged children.
My next book is a tale of breaking free from one’s own shackles of bondage created by the mind which tends to people please and fit in. The protagonist is set out to find her own place not in this world but in her own eyes where her heart is singing, mind is free and spirit is soaring with peace and joy. She realises that she is her own prince charming, galloping to save herself . Only she can love herself the most. She is her first go to person. There is an immense amount of courage within her and that she is enough to fight her own battles. If a woman can have a permanent love affair with herself then only will others’ love be enough for her.
Q6) You have written several books so far. Which one is your personal favourite or the book most connected to you . Tell us a bit about it and also attach the link for purchase.
Ans. Now you breathe is one book which is my personal favourite. It is the culmination of all the books that I have written and challenges I have faced in my life. During the counselling sessions with my expecting clients I figured out that most conflicts in a relationship could be resolved. Most couples began to understand and appreciate each other and amicably carry on the responsibilities of parenting. In some instances I was rendered helpless. I figured no amount of help could salvage individuals because of their altered irrational personality and rigid mindset which only drove them to seek negative outcomes.
After extensive research and further upgrading my professional skills to understand human behaviour and personality traits I penned this book for people who were stuck in self sabotaging situations deliberately created by their counterparts in various personal and professional spaces which only lead to mayhem of the victims physical and mental health. I intend to save a million and more lives through these books by generating awareness amongst people to recognise red flags in toxic relationships, deciphering that they are dealing with people whose mindsets cannot be changed without professional help. Through these books I urge people whichever side of the line they may be on the victims or the abuser to seek professional help.
Unresolved trauma and abuse can result in depression, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety attacks, addiction and suicidal tendencies along with various other mental health conditions. It corrupts the human spirit and leads to the spreading of toxicity among individuals like a plague or a disease. The human mind can become sick due to experiencing trauma, neglect or pain just like the human body can become diseased by various reasons.Various mental health issues lead to personality disorders like Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality disorder, Psychopathy and Sociopathy etc in an individual reiterates the (DSM) Diagnostic of Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used world-wide by all mental health professionals. The book provides a roadmap to identify red flags, deal, leave or heal from toxic relationships. This insight opened my eyes to my personal issues like childhood trauma and abuse.
My extended purpose is to save innocent children from suffering at the hands of dysfunctional adults for no fault of theirs, through another favourite book of mine titled Breaking Free Embracing Me.
Now You Breathe : Overcoming Toxic Relationships and Abuse https://amzn.in/d/5nnQNZu
Breaking Free Embracing Me : Healing from Childhood Abuse and Toxic Conditioning https://amzn.in/d/6P539kC
Q7) Finally if you were to give one piece of advice to the future generations what would it be ?
Self-love, introspection, accountability and responsibility are superpowers which can take us where we want to go and make us who we want to be. There is no point in playing the victim card and being miserable in any situation be it personal or professional. It is in our hands to love ourselves, draw boundaries in every relationship, decide how much of ourselves we want to give to others and also keep for ourselves. If each one of us learn to take care of ourselves to the best capacity and also render help to the next person around us who has lesser privileges, together the whole kind will rise.
Don’t forget to celebrate your small victories. Doesn’t matter if the world and people around don’t seem to recognise your success. If you don’t believe in yourself or celebrate your victories no one will care. Learn to love yourself, take care of your needs, draw healthy boundaries and set realistic boundaries in both your personal and professional relationships. As you grow make sure you are making a difference to the world , community and society around you. Have a purpose in life not just goals, a purpose adds passion to your life and with that burning passion within you, you will become unstoppable.
