The world may see you as an attractive, successful, fun-loving person, but when you get bitten by the depression bug, your mind turns into a dark place – one you can’t run from, and more importantly, one you shouldn’t run from. Being in a state of depression, is basically a feeling of inevitable doom caused by emptiness, not being able to see or find purpose, or having a mental imbalance that isn’t as simple as “feeling sad”. It’s a severe mood disorder that cancels any possible positive thought, and makes you feel vulnerable and out of sorts.
If you are wondering why we said that you shouldn’t be running from this negativity, it’s because sometimes, the only way to get through something is to go through it. And depression, especially, needs to be acknowledged, accepted, and addressed.
It’s no secret that Indians view mental health struggles as a shameful aberration which needs to be hidden. So most who do suffer, cover up their problems in a bid to look “normal”. Ironically, we are also the country that has 56 million people suffering from depression, and a good 38 million suffering from anxiety issues, according to reports that were published by the World Health Organisation. The report also suggested that the common response to an individual witnessing turbulent thoughts, is disgust, annoyance, hatred, anger and fear. These reactions are bound to do only one thing – create a pervasive stigma that becomes a major roadblock for those who are suffering, and want to seek help.
In 2015, when a superstar like Deepika Padukone shattered the “perfect” facade, by opening up about her struggle with depression,the world was shook, and everyone sat up and listened. In an explosive interview with journalist Barkha Dutt, Deepika revealed: “I had just won all my awards, and you know, all the appreciation for 2013… everything had happened and it was a great time, and obviously, people were gonna think like “why is she depressed? She has everything going for her.” But, I woke up one morning just feeling empty, you know? Like this pittish feeling in my stomach. I woke up feeling directionless, I didn’t know where to go, I didn’t know what to do and I had these bouts of feeling so low that I would just start crying at the drop of a hat.” She also added, “Sometimes being out around people helped but sometimes it didn’t help. Again, I don’t think it is in my control, nor in the people surrounding me.”
Post Deepika’s brave revelation, there were other celebrities too, who came out with their stories. Karan Johar, was one of the many. Speaking to a leading daily, KJo said, “I have read people speaking openly about their depression. There was a phase in my life, when I was really depressed. When I went through that phase, I thought I am getting a cardiac arrest. I felt it in the middle of a meeting two and a half years ago, after which I left the meeting saying I have something urgent to do and rushed to the doctor. He then said I am having an anxiety attack. I went to a psychologist post that. Then I realized that I had some internal issues to deal with, which built up to such a point that it resulted in anxiety.”
He further explained how he had stopped feeling excitement or happiness, and how he suffered from a lack of sleep, and constantly felt on the edge. Karan acknowledged, that post sessions with his doctor, he realised that this was depression; brought about due to pent up emotions he had, post his father’s death.
Quite recently, Anushka Sharma too, spoke to a leading publication, admitting to experiencing depression and anxiety. She said, “I have anxiety. And I’m treating my anxiety. I’m on medication for my anxiety. Why am I saying this? Because it’s a completely normal thing. It’s a biological problem. In my family there have been cases of depression. More and more people should talk openly about it. There is nothing shameful about it or something to hide. If you had a constant stomach pain, wouldn’t you go to the doctor? It’s that simple. I want to make this my mission, to take any shame out of this, to educate people about this.”
Not just these, there have been a ton of revelations – right from the times of Parveen Babi and Asha Parekh to Illeana D’Cruz, Tiger Shroff and Manisha Koirala.
However, there are some important questions here – does it always take a celebrity coming out with their stories of depression, for us to realize that it’s normal? Why are their personal accounts setting the bar of normalcy? The number of people suffering from mental health issues in India is greater than the population of Japan! Isn’t it high-time we opened our eyes and faced the problem that is crippling our society? We need to stop ostracising those who do struggle with mental health. We need to start talking about it and creating support systems. The time is now, or it will be too late.
