Subrina Singh is a first generation American born to immigrant parents hailing from Trinidad and Guyana. She was born in South Jamaica and raised in Baldwin Harbor, LI. She is the third of four sisters and has a very large extended family, where she is lovingly know as Subri, Bina and more recently B.

At 16 years old, just a month after her sweet 16, she was diagnosed with bipolar 1 with psychotic features. Coming from a traditional Indian family, the world of mental health and illness was completely foreign to them. As a young teen, Subrina began battling suicidal ideations, psychosis and severe mood swings. She quickly developed a facade as a coping mechanism to hide her symptoms and the shame that followed.

Despite great challenges, Subrina received her BA in Asian and Asian American Studies from StonyBrook University and her MA in Religion and Philosophy from Columbia University. In 2014, as a first year masters candidate, Subrina was published for the first time in an anthology of Sikh love stories, Her Name is Kaur. Before it’s publication, Subrina decided to share her journey with bipolar disorder for the first time via BrownGirl Magazine. This was just the beginning of her advocacy journey; following the publication she became committed to using her experience with bipolar disorder to help others, as a reminder that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. She has been dedicated to igniting the difficult conversations as a way to eradicate the stigma, that is so deeply engrained within the South Asian community.

Subrina has since collaborated with organizations like NAMI, IBF and other mental health initiatives such as NYCThrive. She has been featured in SonyTV’s Shades of Shakti as well as platforms like HuffPost and The Mighty. She most recently published her second short story, Surviving Suicide in BrownGirl Magazine’s first ever print anthology, Untold.

Today, she volunteers as a DBSA peer group facilitator and continues to share the most uncomfortable aspects of her journey living with bipolar disorder.

Contact Subrina for more info.