'I Am An Odd Kid, There's Something Wrong With Me': Shaheen Bhatt On Growing Up With Depression
"Why am I sad all the time? Why is everybody else happy and I am sad? I wondered why things were easier for other people than they were for me," said the writer and sister of actor Alia Bhatt.
While mental health continues to be discussed in many parts of the world, especially by celebrities in order to remove the stigma associated with it, there is still a lot more that needs to be done to fuel this discussion. Mental health conditions like anxiety and depression can often feel overwhelming and isolating, triggering a chain of damaging thoughts and actions. For Shaheen Bhatt -- the sister of actor Alia Bhatt -- mental health problems have been a reality ever since she was a child. The writer has struggled with depression since childhood and she has often candidly talked about it in several interviews to raise awareness and to turn this topic into less of a taboo.
Recently, on her mental health platform 'Here Comes The Sun', the author of the book 'I've Never Been (Un) Happier' shared a snippet of a video, in which she stated that as a kid, she felt something was amiss, and that she was not like other regular kids, because of her mental health troubles. "Depression started when I was very young; I was about 12...11 or 12 [years old]. At that time, there was no emotional vocabulary. Even depression was not really being talked about when I was growing up."
Shaheen, 35, added that since there was no internet back then either, she did not have a lot of information about depression, its symptoms, and what it feels like to actually live with it.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depressive disorder or depression can affect all aspects of life and its quality. It causes a depressed mood in a person, and they may also lose pleasure and interest in activities for 'long periods of time'. Depression is different from regular mood changes. The WHO states that while depression can happen to anyone, those who have experienced abuse, 'severe losses' or other stressful events in life are more likely to develop it. Interestingly, women are more susceptible to depression than men.
"I didn't really know what I was going through," Shaheen said in the video, adding: "Growing up, I was like, 'Oh, I am an odd kid. There is something wrong with me. Why am I sad all the time? Why is everybody else happy and I am sad?' I wondered why things were easier for other people than they were for me."
She added that her depression felt like isolation from everyone around her, including her family and friends.
The WHO said a depressed person may present the following symptoms and patterns: poor concentration; excessive guilt or low self-worth feelings; thoughts about self-harm, dying; hopelessness; sleep issues; appetite or weight changes; feeling tired; having low energy.
It is important to seek help, to reach out to loved ones and a professional, and to know that you are not alone. It is also important for family members and friends to be on the lookout for symptoms if they feel someone close to them is dealing with depression or any other mental health disorder.