Published 09:45 IST, October 5th 2019
Deepika Padukone not only acknowledged depression but also battled it
Deepika Padukone, started a foundation, "Live Laugh Love" in October 2015, to encourage more people suffering from Depression to seek professional help.
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Deepika Padukone is currently the most successful female actor. Recently Deepika has wrapped up the shooting for her movie Chhappaak, which is set to release on January 10, 2020. The movie is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Also read: Deepika Padukone: How Does She Manage Her Superstar Status At Home
How Deepika Padukone coped with Depression
In early 2014, in an interview, Deepika Padukone publically announced how she was struggling with Depression. Deepika Padukone said that she woke up one day "feeling different" and with a "strange emptiness" in her stomach. Deepika opened up about her personal struggles so that she could motivate others suffering from depression to seek professional help. The actor started the Live, Love, Laugh Foundation on October 10, which is celebrated as the World Mental Health Day, in the year 2015, with the same aim.
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Deepika Padukone had heard about her friend committing suicide due to depression. Coupled with her own experience and her friend's death, she realised the need for awareness around depression. Especially as it is treated as a taboo in society. Deepika wanted to make sure that she could impact at least one life. In her interview Deepika stated -
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"There is this perception that if you have everything - fame, money, family - why should one be depressed. It is important to understand what depression is and why it happens. It is a clinical condition that is beyond your control."
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"That's why I came out with my experience: there is a lot of stigma attached to mental illness, to seeking help and a lot of misinformation about what it is and why it happens. It was important for me to be a part of creating that awareness"
Well-wishers' ‘Don’t worry, it will all be alright,’ is not really helpful but hurtful, is what the actor feels.
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Deepika coped with her depression by taking professional help. The actor revealed that she took medications, and she feels much better now. She expressed how it was a struggle to wake up every morning and shoot for Happy New Year's climax. Her Anna aunty was the one she shared things with, who concluded that she was suffering from Anxiety and Depression. When Deepika was recommended medicines, she was reluctant at first.Then she met another psychologist for a seocnd opinion. She also shared that there were days when she would feel okay, but at times, within a day, there would be a roller-coaster of feelings. Finally, Deepika accepted her condition. She slowly said that the counselling helped, but only to an extent. She then eventually took medicines and started feeling better.
01:23 IST, October 5th 2019