Meet Preesha Parihar

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Preesha Parihar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Preesha, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

For me, observation is key.
Over the months I’ve spent working at mercuri.world, there have been times where I’ve experienced creative blocks that would span from a few hours, to even days on end. In moments where I lacked inspiration to derive my ideas from, I would try to experience something new. This would mean listening to a new genre of music, watching a critically acclaimed film, or even allowing myself to bring in ideas from new destinations I visit. In the process, I would notice any new creative elements, personal lessons that I learnt from these experiences and peoples’ perceptions towards new techniques in these mediums. No idea is inherently our own; we learn by observing and only the specific combination of ideas that we hold make us unique as a producer of any form of art. I think being able to understand that concept makes it easier for me to derive even the tiniest of elements from new surroundings, experiences, or even perspectives.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Mercuri.World is a not-for-profit, student-led organization that focuses on bridging the gaps of mental health accessibility globally through digital innovation. Led by students at Harvard and MIT in 2024, we have been able to reach 6,000+ people worldwide, translating services to over 20 languages across a diverse set of communities.

As the Director of Digital Media at Mercuri.World, I facilitate in spreading mental health awareness through social media platforms, and collaborating with organizations that share our passion in creating a positive space for mental health awareness on a global scale. I often play a pivotal role in the creative and strategic processes for our outreach on upcoming and ongoing events within the organization, and for spreading our mission to like-minded individuals who share our passion in health equity. As someone who admires methods of creative expression, I find it incredibly endearing that Mercuri.World allows the space for experimentation on methods could spread our reach globally, and that our Outreach Team is incredibly supportive of any advice that I give them, and that discussion for our next steps is encouraged within our organization as a whole. Additionally, Mercuri.World has given me the space to develop my form of expression to our audience over time, which benefits my creative integrity as well as the reach that our brand has across all platforms.

Right now, we’re leading the Little Talks Movement, a youth-driven initiative that creates safe, peer-to-peer conversations for teenagers and young adults ages 13–30. These conversations take place over digital platforms, so participants can connect in the way that feels most comfortable for them. A Little Talk might be as simple as checking in on someone, sharing experiences with mental health, exchanging coping strategies, or learning about available resources. What makes this powerful is the peer-to-peer model: research consistently shows that youth-to-youth mental health programs are more impactful than top-down approaches, with peer support acting as a strong protective factor against negative health outcomes. And because these conversations happen from behind a screen, many participants feel freer to open up than they would in person.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Fellow-feeling, having a strong sense of routine, and the psychology of graphical elements in design are the most essential things in my journey as a Digital Media Director.

The ability to understand what others may feel when interacting with a piece of content from your brand online, including what makes audiences want to interact with different types of media helps in the designing process of all of the content that we as an organization produce, and requires experimenting with what works and what doesn’t for your particular niche online. Being able to focus on what colors, words, or phrases to utilize has been a process that has never been straightforward, and requires practice in order to gain a more holistic sense of what your community needs from you in order to grow. I tend to keep an open mind about what I can improve, since it’s most important to remember that there’s always room for improvement, especially in content creation. Additionally, all digital media platforms require a sense of consistency, which only comes from forming the habit of it in our daily lives. Finding ways to keep this sense of consistency lively can help build those habit and personalize the routine to you.

One thing I would put out to individuals starting out is that social media has the tendency to make you experience upward social comparison, especially when it comes to content creation. While it is important to spread your reach as much as possible to these platforms, it’s also important to build a strong community, which means that it’s not always beneficial to listen to creators that do so otherwise. It is always a rough journey at the start; allow yourself the grace to feel difficulty, and remind yourself that that is entirely normal to experience it.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

I think it’s much better to try and improve in areas that we may not be as strong in, since it also opens up perspectives and new opportunities for future decisions.

In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the cave dwellers who only stayed with what they “knew” remained in a state where they did not progress intellectually. However, Plato points out that the freed cave dweller went through a rebirth in beliefs about his reality. Confronting what we’re weak or uncomfortable in often reveals entirely new perspectives.

Similarly, when I turn to novel experiences, forms of media or subjects that I often find myself struggling with, it feels tempting to work on what I know I am capable of. In those moments, I remember that being able to expand on my horizon brings me new possibilities to my existing schemas about the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mercuri.world/
• Instagram: @mercuri.world
• Linkedin: @mercuri.world
• Youtube: @mercuri.world