It's tough, but there's hope: Deepika Padukone continues fight against mental illness
At a fundraising dinner for mental health in New York, actor Deepika Padukone speaks about the 'tough challenge' that mental illness poses to society and says it's important to be patient and have hope.
Deepika Padukone brought mental heath, typically brushed under the carpet in India, into the spotlight in 2015 when she spoke about her struggle with depression. Since then, she has vociferously championed the need to change the way we look at mental health.
At a fundraising dinner for Youth Anxiety Center in New York, the actor used the opportunity to speak about mental illness. In an Instagram post she later wrote:
"Mental illness has presented society with a very tough challenge...but my experience with the illness has taught me so much; to be patient for one..but most importantly that there is 'Hope'!"
Deepika also met beauty mogul Kendal Jenner at the fundraiser and shared pictures in the post.
The actor has often spoken about mental health and wellbeing since she revealed the challenges she faced with mental illness at the peak of her career. In one of her earlier talks she had said, "When I shared my story first, I did not feel any stigma or shame attached to it. And the reason I came out in the open about it was because I just did not want to feel what I was feeling, I did not let depression to get the better of me. So, I think the root cause is stigma. And the day we, as a society, can together get over that stigma and raise awareness about mental health issues, we will win this battle," she added.
India and China top the list when it comes to depression and mental illness. WHO reports that based on the Indian National Health Survey of 2015-16 one in 20 Indians suffers from depression.
Hence, conversations around this issue are crucial, especially from someone like Deepika, who also started the Live, Lough, Laugh Foundation with Anna Chandy to "reduce the stigma, create awareness, and change the way we look at mental health".
In yet another post on Instagram, Deepika shed light on the Youth Anxiety Center and its work. The centre helps teens and young adults with anxiety disorders.
As Deepika says from her own experience, there is hope. As long as we work together to address this issue.
