On the Occasion of World Mental Health Day, Shaheen Bhatt Shares a New Initiative
Shaheen says, “It was born from a simple idea. The idea that we are not alone. None of us are alone in our struggles and journeys with mental health - we all have the same fears and we all hope for the same things.”
On the occasion of world mental health day, Alia Bhatt’s sister Shaheen Bhatt has launched an initiative called ‘Here comes the Sun’. The name has been taken from the famous Beatles song of the same name.
Shaheen Bhatt is a great advocate of mental health as she was a victim of depression right from the tender age of thirteen. After her painful tryst with depression, Shaheen makes sure that she spreads awareness on the topic and takes steps to break the stigma surrounding mental health.
Speaking about her new initiative Shaheen says, “It was born from a simple idea. The idea that we are not alone. None of us are alone in our struggles and journeys with mental health - we all have the same fears and we all hope for the same things.”
She added that the initiative is a “friendly reminder” that people are not alone in their journey. The initiative will start a conversation, spread awareness and break taboos surrounding the issue.
Shaheen also opened up about her tryst with depression. She said that depression “was the big, scary monster under my bed that was ruining my entire life.”
“But here’s the thing about monsters: they can only live in the dark. If you turn on the light you’ll see that what you thought was a monster, isn’t a monster at all.”
Shaheen has also written a book titled, ‘I've Never Been (Un) Happier’ that follows her personal journey of living with the condition up to this day. She was suicidal on more than one occasion. She would lock herself up for days and barely eat. Since depression hit her very early in life, it affected her identity to a large extent and thus hampered her career prospects too.
During a recent interview with Rajeev Masand, Shaheen has cleared the biggest misconception regarding sadness and depression.
Sadness is a healthy emotion that occurs due to a certain circumstance in your life like losing a loved one whereas depression has nothing to do with your current circumstances. It can occur irrespective of where you are in life.
Shaheen’s sister Alia Bhatt was a strong pillar of support when her sister went through the bitter ordeal. Today she proudly shared Shaheen’s post on Instagram and wrote these encouraging words lending complete support to her sister: “No one needs to be alone as they struggle with mental health, battling their own fears and anxiety. Sometimes all you need to know that you're not alone. I'm here a 100%..... To start the conversation, to raise awareness and to join you on this journey, every step of the way.”