Every year October 10 is observed as the World Mental Health Day. The theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health this year is "Psychological First Aid" and how people can help those suffering from mental ailments.
According to statistics by the World Health Organisation, around 50 million Indians are estimated to be suffering from mental illnesses, which make India one of the most depressed nations in the world.
Though mental health is still something that is spoken about in hushed tones in the society, many celebrities from the film industry have spoken about it and shared their experiences with fans.
Here are some celebs who have opened up about their psychological sufferings and provided motivation to many others to combat this condition:
Deepika Padukone:
The stunning actress opened up about her depression issues and revealed that she tried getting over this feeling by trying to keep herself busy. She admitted that she often broke down, got shallow breaths and experienced lack of concentration.
Anxiety,Depression and Panic Attacks are not signs of weakness.They are signs of trying to remain strong for way too long.
— Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) December 31, 2014
"I thought it was stress, so I tried to distract myself by focusing on work, and surrounding myself with people, which helped for a while. But the nagging feeling didn't go away. My breath was shallow, I suffered from lack of concentration and I broke down often," Hindustan Times quoted her as saying.
The actress started the Live Love Laugh Foundation to spread awareness and to aid people suffering from mental disorders.
Anushka Sharma:
This bubbly actress shared her side of story and boldly stated that depression is not something to be ashamed of.
"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," the actress said in an interview with the daily last year.
Depression ... pic.twitter.com/biwtHPKxrz
— Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) August 12, 2014
Varun Dhawan:
Actor Varun Dhawan revealed that he was on the brink of clinical depression while he was shooting for Badlapur. He also told the media sources that he consulted a doctor to rectify the condition.
"I was depressed. I was not clinically declared depressed but I was heading there. I was very sad to a certain degree. I don't want to use the term 'depression' loosely because it's a serious illness. It definitely affected my mental health. I was prescribed and did see a Doctor for it as well," Dhawan told HT.
"Maybe because I am young and I had not seen the things I got to see during the making of Badlapur. I think, that is why it hit me harder than it would affect a person older than me," he added.
He also explained that people presume stars do not suffer from such issues.
