Mindy Kaling opens up about her grief journey following mother’s demise

Mindy Kaling dished on how her mother’s death affected her life and shifted her focus towards mental wellness.

In a recent interview with Marie Claire, The Office star disclosed that her mental health changed after her mother Swati Chokalingam died of pancreatic cancer in 2012.

While talking about grief, Kaling described that she had “anguish for two years”. The actress revealed that this was the time she was launching her hit television show The Mindy Project and hence she was working 14-16 hours every day.

“I think this was the moment when I decided to start seeing a therapist to process the loss,” she told outlet.

The actress explained, “I think you can get things done more if you’re able to talk to the right people about the things going on in your life.”

“I remember thinking, 'This is extremely helpful, but this would have even been helpful when I was younger, when I had issues'…Life is so hard,” remarked Kaling.

Kaling shared that through therapy, she was able to channel her grief into her work that others could connect with.

“Losing my mom and then wanting to talk about it in a way that is not as sad as the experience of going through it, but being able to be like, ‘If you went through anything like this, you could watch this and feel seen’; I think that was the goal of creating Never Have I Ever series,” she added.