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Ira Khan shared a video after being trolled for speaking about her depression. Do we really need to justify our mental health to anyone?
On Sunday, Aamir Khan’s daughter, Ira Khan revealed that she was sexually harassed at the age of 14 by someone she knew. In the ten minute-long video she shared on her Instagram page, she spoke about several personal challenges. These included being diagnosed with a dreadful disease at six, being sexually harassed at 14, her parents’ divorce and her battle with depression.
Instead of receiving public support and positivity, Ira had to face various insensitive questions about her “privileges.”
‘Why are you depressed? You have everything by the grace of God. You should be thankful for it.’ How many times have we pushed the people battling depression into guilt that they aren’t ‘thankful’ for their life?
We simply assume depression is caused when a person is unsatisfied with their life, thus believing that the ‘privileged’ cannot be depressed. Ira Khan too admitted that her privilege meant ‘she should handle stuff on her own.’
But what we forget or refuse to accept is that depression is an ailment of the mind and can affect us all. We often push people to think that they are ‘making it up’ or ‘it’s all in their mind.’ With the fear of being tagged ‘ungrateful’ and ‘attention-seeking,’ a number of individuals refuse to share their pain and continue to suffer alone.
Whenever someone comes out to share their battle with depression or strives to seek help, we often tag it as ‘attention-seeking behaviour’ or a ‘publicity stunt. Especially when it comes to Bollywood, we assume that anything and everything is a publicity stunt.
In many movies today, depression is romanticised and glorified, giving an impression that it is something ‘cool and trendy’ that can just be addressed with a few kind words. Due to this notion, the majority of the people don’t come forward or seek help. Besides, there is the fear of being ignored or worse, being trolled
No one should need to justify their depression to others. In Bollywood, where all we see is glamour and luxury, battling with depression is a tough task. We need to realise the exhaustion of depression when you’re expected to constantly smile, function ‘regularly’ even as you want to break down and cry your heart out.
Nobody should be made to find a ‘valid reason’ for their depression because like all physical ailments, depression, too, is an ailment even if it’s invisible.
Picture credits: Ira Khan’s Instagram
Anamika is an English literature student with a strong inclination towards feminist literature, feminist literary criticism and women's history. read more...
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