Challenges: Seema’s mother‑in‑law criticises every meal, forcing her to re‑cook dishes late at night.
Impact on Health: Chronic sleep loss and digestive issues emerge, while Seema’s self‑esteem plummets—she no longer trusts her taste or decisions in the kitchen.

Impact on Children: Learned People‑Pleasing -Witnessing constant criticism at home teaches them to suppress their own needs and always seek approval, undermining their autonomy.

Challenges: Ritu is expected to give up her job after marriage and focus entirely on household duties.
Impact on Health: Over time, she feels purposeless and depressed; the sudden inactivity weakens her muscles and motivation, and she doubts her abilities outside her “designated” role.

Impact on Children: Rigid Gender Roles. Seeing their mother sidelined (Pressure to Conform) normalises limiting beliefs—especially for daughters, who may believe they too must give up ambitions for domestic duties.

Challenges: Anjali’s husband and in-laws choose their children’s school and family finances without consulting her.
Impact on Health: Feeling powerless leads to chronic anxiety and a weakened immune response; Anjali’s confidence erodes as she convinces herself her input doesn’t matter.

Impact on Children: Low Self‑Worth. When mom’s opinions are ignored (Decision‑Making Exclusion), children internalize that some voices don’t matter—hurting their confidence in speaking up.

Challenges: Kavita’s in‑laws accuse her of “neglecting” her husband whenever she visits her parents.
Impact on Health: Persistent guilt spikes her cortisol levels—she suffers headaches and mood swings—and her confidence shrinks as she believes she must always justify herself.

Impact on Children: Chronic Guilt & Anxiety. Growing up amid constant guilt‑tripping (Emotional Manipulation) primes them for anxiety disorders and a persistent fear of failure.

Challenges: Meera’s allowance is tightly monitored, and she must ask permission for any expense.
Impact on Health: This dependency reinforces helplessness, contributing to chronic stress and high blood pressure; Meera’s self-worth diminishes because she feels incapable of managing even her own day-to-day needs.

Impact on Children: Unhealthy Money Beliefs. Observing tight financial control can lead children to see money as power over others, fostering either dependency or hoarding behaviours.

Challenges: Priya endures regular verbal put‑downs and occasional slaps from her sister‑in‑law, blamed on “family dynamics.”
Impact on Health: Repeated trauma can lead to PTSD symptoms (insomnia, hypervigilance) and chronic pain; her self-confidence fractures as she internalises the message that she “deserves” the abuse.

Impact on Children: Trauma & Aggression Exposure to verbal or physical abuse (Abuse) increases the risk of PTSD, behaviour problems, and either becoming aggressive or overly withdrawn.

Challenges: Neha’s in-laws discourage her from meeting friends or calling her parents.
Impact on Health: Loneliness fuels depression and a weakened stress response; cut off from validation, Neha’s confidence erodes until she doubts her perceptions and worth.

Impact on Children: Social Isolation. When mom is cut off from friends and family (Isolation), children miss out on healthy social modelling, leading to poor emotional intelligence and difficulty forming trusting relationships.

Challenges: Ambika's mother-in-law and sister-in-law has only narrated stories of how they were suppressed and used by their father's side of the family and now that they have their own space they are the decision makers for every minute household decisions; completely barring Ambika to decide even when to run her newborn a bath. Even as a financially independent mother, she’s forbidden to buy clothes for her newborn when she outgrows them. She is tricked into funding household expenses, yet aren't allowed to make food of her own choice. According to them Ambika's independent choices that does not even impact anyone other than Ambika, are an imposition on the family.
Impact on Health: Ambika lives in constant dread. She is made to believe she is the oppressor. Stress breeds insomnia, anxiety, and high blood pressure. Which in turn affects her mood towards her child, her decision making at work and makes her relationship with her husband bitter.

Impact on Children: Her baby, sensing her tension, may develop sleep issues, insecure attachment, and heightened anxiety—trapped in the fallout of her mother’s invisible cage.

Riya and Arjun’s marriage began under a dark cloud they didn’t see coming. From the first evening, Arjun’s mother complained that Riya was “too modern,” while his sister whispered that Riya would “steal” family traditions. Their questions—“Why do you work late?” “Why don’t you cook gulab jamun like we do?”—felt innocent at first. But each comment dug a little wound in Riya’s confidence and planted tiny seeds of doubt in Arjun’s heart.

Before the honeymoon was over, Riya noticed Arjun’s shoulders tighten whenever his mother called, and he’d excuse himself mid‑conversation to “take her side.” Quiet resentments built on both sides: Riya began to feel she was never good enough; Arjun felt torn between loyalty to his family and love for his wife. They never truly learned each other’s rhythms, because every step forward seemed followed by two steps back under the weight of in‑law expectations.

Over months, their home became a battlefield of silent treatments and clipped words. Riya developed insomnia and tension headaches; Arjun suffered stomach ulcers from chronic worry. Their emotional distance left their newborn son grasping at air when Riya reached for him—he learned fear before he learned laughter. As the child grew, he mirrored his parents’ guarded interactions, his own world tinted with anxiety and mistrust.

A marriage that might have blossomed into a loving partnership instead became a fractured foundation for their family—because when negativity and control shape the first steps, healing together can feel like an impossible journey.

After 16 years, Oindrila left her marriage, escaping manipulation and sexual abuse that her in‑laws forced her to endure in silence. With only ₹6,000 and two bags, she chose freedom over fighting for property that she legally co-owned. Not because she was afraid, simply because she didn’t want to waste another day or an ounce of energy. She had developed chronic insomnia, panic attacks, and depression, and to heal fully was her number one priority. It took her about 3 years to heal physically and get stronger emotionally. Five years later, her ex called and apologised, also shared that his family is currently suffering their ordeal, but that meant nothing to her. That conversation simply felt like a story about people she didn’t even know. She had truly moved forward, free from her past. She’d rebuilt her career, better this time. She now has a family of her own. Oindrila emerged unshakable—healed, empowered, and free from the past.

Even if the people who caused you intense hurt, broke your home and left no room to destroy you to rubbles, you heal not to teach them a lesson but to rise as a complete human being. For yourself. Let’s do this.​