Aparna Piramal on Ambition, Mental Health & Crafting a Life That Fits | Be Anomalous by Sai Menon

In this episode of Be Anomalous, Aparna Piramal Raje joins me for a rare, deeply honest conversation about ambition, mental health, and what happens when success — as we’re taught to chase it — stops working.Aparna grew up in Mumbai, studied at Oxford and Harvard, and became a CEO in her twenties. From the outside, it looked like she had followed the “right” path.But inside, the cost was mounting.Living with bipolar disorder for over two decades, Aparna shares what it really takes to navigate mental health while carrying ambition, expectations, and leadership roles — and how she learned to move from chasing the outer scorecard of validation, titles, and approval to trusting an inner scorecard rooted in meaning, craftsmanship, and sustainability.In this conversation, we talk about:Mental health as a medical condition — not a personality flawThe pressure to appear “normal” while struggling internallyWhy achievement alone doesn’t guarantee fulfillmentLeadership is a set of everyday habits, not heroic momentsThe role of support systems — beyond crisis momentsRedefining success in a way that protects your well-beingWe also discuss Aparna’s books Chemical Khichdi and Working Out of the Box, and how writing became a way for her to make sense of her life — and offer others a path forward.If you’ve ever felt like you were doing everything “right” and still felt deeply misaligned — this episode is for you.