Some founders build businesses because they spot an opportunity. Others build because something in their own life makes the gap impossible to ignore.
For Sheena Pirbhai, emotional health isn’t a wellness trend or a checkbox on a corporate policy. It’s the invisible force behind how people decide, cope, lead, and heal. It determines whether someone functions – or quietly unravels. And it’s something she believes we have underestimated for far too long.
“Eighty percent of decisions are emotionally driven,” she says. “Yet emotions are largely forgotten when we analyse human behaviour.”
That insight sits at the heart of Stress Point Health, the mental health technology company Sheena founded to focus on emotional regulation directly. Based in Dubai, the company is pioneering a new category of care at the intersection of neuroscience, technology, and performance – offering tools designed to help people regulate emotional reactions in minutes.
“I’m building the future of emotional health,” Sheena explains. “Support that works in the moment stress disrupts behaviour, health, and decision-making – not just after everything falls apart.”
Sheena’s work did not emerge from theory. It emerged from lived experience. Just after graduating from the University of Cambridge, she was involved in a severe road accident in which she was run over by a truck. She spent three months in intensive care and a further year in hospital. The physical recovery was long, but the emotional impact lingered far beyond what was visible.
Later, in investment banking, untreated PTSD combined with sustained pressure to devastating effect.
“After two and a half years, the stress of the job and the underlying trauma led to a total mental breakdown,” she says. “With very little support from my employer, I quit and spent a year receiving mental health treatment.”
What stayed with her was how poorly systems handled someone who looked capable but was struggling. Even now, she reflects, workplaces still fail to take burnout seriously enough.
During treatment, Sheena experienced emotional regulation-focused therapies and neuro feedback for the first time. Unlike approaches that relied solely on cognition, these therapies worked directly with the nervous system.
“That experience changed how I understood recovery,” she says. “It showed me what regulation could actually feel like.”
Recovery was not linear. Sheena continued receiving treatment for physical injuries for several years. But during that period, she also realised traditional work structures could not accommodate her reality.
So she created her own. While recovering, she helped a friend from her hospital bed – an unexpected moment that became the seed for her first company. Entrepreneurship gave her flexibility and control. That business grew to four offices across London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Dubai before being sold in 2017.
Afterwards, Sheena moved into investing, supporting startups across the Middle East and building a portfolio of twelve companies, three of which achieved successful exits.
“Being on the investor side of the table made me want to build again,” she says. “And I knew it had to be in mental health.” Stress Point Health was born from that clarity – and from her conviction that emotions were the missing variable.
At the core of Stress Point Health is patented, digitised neuro feedback delivered through personalised sound frequencies. The technology targets emotional regulation directly, helping users calm their nervous systems and regain balance.
Thousands now use the platform to regulate stress, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm. The outcomes are practical and tangible: better sleep, clearer thinking, improved emotional control.
“These aren’t abstract results,” Sheena says. “They’re daily improvements in how people function, work, and relate.”
Stress Point Health also integrates emotional regulation into chronic disease pathways, recognising the deep link between mind and body in long-term health, longevity, and prevention.
For Sheena, impact is not only about outcomes. It is about who gets to benefit. The company provides its technology free of charge to charities, NGOs, and frontline mental health organisations supporting people who cannot afford care.
“Emotional regulation and mental health support should never be a privilege,” she says. “By removing barriers, we make sure those carrying the greatest burden of stress aren’t left behind.”
Looking ahead, Sheena sees mental health shifting from reactive treatment to prevention; from subjective reporting to measurable regulation; from episodic care to continuous support.
Technology will play a role – but not by replacing human care. “It’s about giving people tools that actually work when stress disrupts their lives,” she says.
Her ambition is to establish emotional regulation as a foundational pillar of healthcare, workplace performance, and longevity – standard practice, not a last resort.
As a woman of colour in leadership, Sheena has learned to focus relentlessly on substance. “I prioritise clarity of thought, depth of expertise, and measurable impact,” she says. “Over time, results speak louder than assumptions.”
Her advice to other women reflects that reality: “Build depth before visibility. Confidence follows capability.”
What excites her most is seeing how quickly people change when the right support exists. “When regulation is restored, creativity returns,” she says. “Resilience strengthens. People imagine futures that once felt out of reach.”
The legacy she hopes to leave is one of access and normalisation – a world where emotional regulation is embedded into everyday life, and care reaches people before they break.
If she were given a billboard, her message would be clear: “Regulate your emotions. Protect your health. Unlock your potential.”
stresspointhealth.com | rsm.ac.uk | thersa.org
