When Everyone Has an Opinion About Your Timeline
“So, when are you getting married?”
Sometimes it’s a casual question. Sometimes it’s a family conversation that keeps coming back. Sometimes it’s watching friends get married, seeing relatives settle down or feeling like you’re somehow falling behind.
And somewhere between what you want and what everyone around you expects, it can become difficult to tell which voice is actually yours.
Marriage can be a deeply personal choice, but it doesn’t always feel that way. Family expectations, cultural norms, age-related timelines, relationship pressures and comparison can make the decision feel less like a choice and more like a deadline.
The Marriage Question is a psychology-informed workshop that creates space to explore these pressures, understand how they affect your choices and reconnect with what marriage, partnership and your own timeline actually mean to you.
You don’t have to arrive with an answer.
You just need space to ask the question honestly.
Is this workshop for you?
This workshop may be helpful if you…
✓ Feel like you’re running out of time to get married.
✓ Frequently hear questions about when you’re going to settle down.
✓ Compare your relationship timeline with friends or people your age.
✓ Feel torn between what you want and what your family expects.
✓ Are unsure whether you actually want marriage or simply feel expected to want it.
✓ Feel pressure to stay in or pursue a relationship because of age or timelines.
✓ Find yourself questioning whether you’re being “too picky.”
✓ Want to make relationship decisions without letting fear or pressure make them for you.
Meet Your Facilitators
Akanksha Mehta
Founder, Mind Soul Bridge
Akanksha is a Counselling Psychology postgraduate (M.Sc, Christ University) with 600+ therapy sessions across EAP, private practice and relationship counselling. She works with individuals and couples around anxiety, stress, burnout, trauma and relationship concerns through an evidence-based, trauma-informed, integrative approach and has facilitated 100+ mental-wellbeing workshops in corporate and community settings.
Riddhima Nigam
Founder, Bekhauf Panchi
Riddhima is a Counselling Psychologist and the founder of Bekhauf Panchi by Riddhima. She works with adolescents and adults around emotional overwhelm, stress, self-doubt, relationship concerns, identity and life transitions through a human-centred, trauma-informed and integrative approach. Her work focuses on creating emotionally safe, collaborative spaces that help individuals understand their experiences, reconnect with their strengths and values and develop greater clarity and self-trust. She also works with adolescents around developmental, emotional, academic and social challenges.
What you’ll learn?
The Pressure Behind the Question
- Understand how family, culture, peers, social comparison and age-related expectations can influence how we think about marriage.
Your Timeline vs. Everyone Else’s
- Explore what happens when your personal timeline doesn’t match the timelines around you.
Wanting Marriage vs. Wanting to Be Married
- Reflect on the difference between your own desires and the expectations you’ve absorbed about what adulthood “should” look like.
Fear, Urgency & Decision-Making
- Understand how fear of being alone, missing your chance or “falling behind” can influence relationship decisions.
Choosing for Yourself
- Begin identifying what you actually value in partnership, marriage and your life separate from what you’re told you should want.
What you’ll take away?
A Personal Expectations Map
- Identify the different voices influencing your relationship and marriage decisions.
Guided Reflection Exercises
- Explore what you genuinely want from partnership, marriage and your future.
A Pressure vs. Preference Framework
- Begin distinguishing between choices that come from your own values and choices driven primarily by external expectations.
Tools for Difficult Conversations
- Reflect on ways to communicate your boundaries and choices when conversations with family become uncomfortable.
Lifetime Resources
- Resources to support your learning beyond the workshop
What happens during the 90 minutes?
1- Understand: Interactive teaching
- We’ll unpack the psychological and social pressures that can shape how we think about marriage.
2- Reflect: Guided self-reflection
- You’ll have space to explore your own expectations, fears, values and desires.
3- Unpack: A practical reflection exercise
- You’ll work through an exercise to separate your own voice from the voices around you.
4- Connect: Real-life examples + optional discussion
- We’ll explore common situations around family conversations, timelines, dating and comparison.
5- Ask: Live Q&A
- Ask questions during and after the session.
Why this workshop is different?
Your Timeline Doesn’t Need to Look Like Everyone Else’s.
This workshop is…
Psychology-informed
We look beyond “don’t let society pressure you” and explore how expectations actually shape our thoughts and choices.
Reflective rather than prescriptive
We’re not here to tell you whether you should get married, wait or choose something else.
Practical
You’ll leave with frameworks and reflections you can continue using when making relationship decisions.
Non-judgemental
Wanting marriage, not wanting marriage or not knowing yet are all valid places to begin.
About choice and not a prescribed answer
The goal isn’t to help you arrive at the “right” decision. It’s to create enough space to understand your decision.
Frequently asked questions.
Do I need prior therapy experience?
- No. These sessions are for everyone, whether or not you’ve ever spoken to a therapist.
Will I have to share personal experiences?
- Never. Participation in discussion is always optional. You’re welcome to simply listen and participate privately.
Will the session be recorded?
- Yes. Recording will be available for a week after the workshop.
Can I ask questions?
- Yes. There will be a live Q&A, and you can ask questions through the chat.
Will I receive resources afterward?
- Yes. Worksheets and a recommended resource list will be shared on WhatsApp after the session.
Can beginners attend?
- Absolutely. No background in psychology is needed.
Is there an age requirement?
- Yes. This workshop is for women aged 18 and above.
How do I get the joining link?
- Your Google Meet link and reminders will be sent to you on WhatsApp after you register.
Important Information
Before you register
- This is a psychoeducational workshop. It is not a substitute for psychotherapy or crisis support.
- Participation in discussion is always optional.
- You do not have to disclose anything personal during the session.
- Please join from a quiet, private space where possible.
- Worksheets and resources will be shared on WhatsApp after the session.
- Refund/cancellation policy:
We understand that plans can change. If you need to cancel your registration, you may request a full refund up to 24 hours before the workshop begins.
For cancellations made less than 24 hours before the workshop, or after the workshop has started, no refund will be provided.
To request a refund, please contact us at least 24 hours before the scheduled start time of the workshop.
If you are in distress or crisis, you can contact:
- Tele-MANAS: 1800-89-14416 | 14416
- iCall (TISS): 9152987821