you are not Alone!

“If you are depressed, you are not the only one”, was Deepika Padukone’s concluding remark on the NDTV talk show, ‘We the People’, with Barkha Dutt. Deepika Padukone opened up about her journey with depression in this interview and shared her struggles to overcome it. The interview aired on March 21, 2015. 

The stigma surrounding mental health runs deep in the Indian society. Even if the individual acknowledges his mental ailment, the stigma prevents him from seeking help as society considers it  a sign of weakness. If the individual does accept help and takes medication to treat the mental illness then society will truly believe that the person’s dimag karrab hai.

Mental ailments like depression and anxiety are looked at as privileged conditions. Only those who are successful, rich or powerful are expected to face these ailments but not the everyday man. This idea strengthens the stigma because it isolates individuals from the problem and when the layman faces the same problems they believe that they are facing something unique only to them.  Depression and anxiety are also treated like attention pranks and thus family support is lost. Without the basic support system, the individual will crumble.

India has a very young population. Most of the population is in the age group of 18-29. If the nation cannot tackle the growing concerns of depression and anxiety it may lead to become a full fledged epidemic in another 10 years because the nation and the society will not be equipped to deal with the growing cases of depression and anxiety. And we will stagnate as the World’s Most Depressed Country.

Deepika Padukone seems to have demystified the airs surrounding depression and anxiety as she came clean about her experiences. She accepted that there was something wrong with her, because she acted in ways that seemed foreign even to her. She realized that she was feeling off and no amount of cheer or joy could make her feel normal again. She even tried to go to a different country in hopes that the experience might make her feel better but it had the opposite effect, it made her feel worse about herself. Her mother convinced her to talk to a family friend, Dr. Anna Chandy, who was also a counselor. She guided Deepika to a psychiatrist who explained to Deepika that she was not alone in her fight. Dr. Shyam Bhat explained to her that many individuals in the world today share similar feelings and she was not the only one who was confused and tormented about her life. She was hesitant to take medication, but then her father reasoned to her that if she had a headache or any physical ailment she would take a tablet without thinking otherwise, why should it be any different with medication for mental health. She also debunks the myth that depression and anxiety are privileged ailments. She stresses that almost all people, irrespective of their economic status, feel depressed.

Why would Deepika’s story influence the people of India? In particular why would the struggles of a film star, an icon, change the mindset of the general public? In my opinion, the people will be greatly influenced by her because this proves that she is also a mere human being.

In India, celebrities have often been put up on too high a pedestal that it becomes difficult to associate shortcomings with them. When these stars admit their 'humanness' it gets the attention of the public. We have seen many celebrities end their lives because of their mental illness and many people around them may or may not have known about their condition. This proves that even the film stars succumb to the stigma attached to mental health and would rather brave it alone than be subjected to the ridicule. People realize that their idols are not exempted from shortcomings and they experience feelings of sadness and anxiety just like normal people do. 

Celebrities also act as role models. In promoting the benefits of fitness, one might often see the example of Bipasha Basu and Shilpa Shetty being used as most women aim to be like them. Celebrities also motivate and inspire people to contribute to their causes, the most visible being ‘Being Human’ by Salman Khan.  So, when Deepika Padukone starts to talk about mental health, people will most likely listen and maybe even endorse and contribute to the cause.

Of course, it goes without saying that celebrities are also trendsetters in society. Because of their huge fan following, it may be easier for the celebrities to instill new ideas and create awareness about a particular issue. And that is what we see Deepika Padukone do. She has opened up about her fight with depression in hopes that she might at least touch one life. Her foundation, ‘Live Laugh Love’, aims at providing mental health care, a step towards reducing the stigma attached to it.

This initiative not only helps the general public but also other film stars who can come out of their shells to admit to these mental problems because they realize that their colleagues too, go through the same thing.

In conclusion, Deepika’s confession has set the wheel in motion to reduce the stigma attached to mental health and spread awareness about the importance of the treatment before it is too late.  With 25 million likes on Facebook and 10 million followers on Twitter, Deepika Padukone is already making a huge impact among her fans by bringing this issue out in the open. If other celebrities with their huge fan following promote the awareness of mental health, it would play a vital role in countering the stigma associated with mental health.

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Find below Deepika Padukone's full interview with Barkha Dutt.