World mental health day throwback to Deepika Padukone explicitly speaking about her mental illness

One of the very few celebrities who has spoken publicly about their depression and how she came out of it, Deepika Padukone, has been vocal about her suffering from mental illness in the past. Getting inspiration from the courage Deepika exhibited by showing her vulnerable side to the world, many people came out on the public forum to talk about their story and how normal depression is in today’s world and we can talk about it in public. Breaking stereotype and the taboo around mental illness, the world is once again celebrating the ‘World Mental Health Day’, today on October 10, and to get some strength to fight it back let’s go back to the time when Deepika Padukone had explicitly talked about depression like never before.

Moving back to 2015, when Deepika had come candid in a media interview and told how she struggled to wake up in the morning one fine day, feeling different, while, she was ruling the world of cinema. She had revealed, “In early 2014, while I was being appreciated for my work, one morning, I woke up feeling different. A day earlier, I had fainted due to exhaustion; it was all downhill from there. I felt a strange emptiness in my stomach.” “Every morning, it was a struggle to wake up and shoot for Happy New Year’s (2014) climax. Finally, I had a word with Anna aunty. She flew to Mumbai from Bengaluru, and I talked my heart out to her. She concluded that I was suffering from anxiety and depression,” the diva had said.

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Deepika in the same interview had also talked about how Depression is the most widespread epidemic as per the World Health Organisation report. She had then revealed, “We talk about all kinds of ailments, but this is probably one of the deadliest mental disorders. Nothing, including life, makes sense to people suffering from it. Overcoming it has made me a stronger person and I now value my life much more. Accepting it and speaking about it has liberated me. I have stopped taking medication, and I hope my example will help people reach out for help.”

She had concluded by saying, “Being sad and being depressed are two different things. Also, people going through depression don’t look so, while someone sad will look sad. The most common reaction is, ‘How can you be depressed? You have everything going for you. You are the supposed number one heroine and have a plush home, car, movies… What else do you want?’ It’s not about what you have or don’t have. People talk about physical fitness, but mental health is equally important. I see people suffering, and their families feel a sense of shame about it, which doesn’t help. One needs support and understanding.”