Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone recently made news for her grand wedding with actor Ranveer Singh and the many glamorous receptions the couple had. Just a few days before the 32-year-old married Ranveer, she wrote a heartfelt message for those struggling with mental health issues.
Deepika, who is one of the few celebrities to have spoken about her struggle with anxiety and depression publicly, also founded The Live Laugh Love Foundation (TLLLF) in 2015 to help spread awareness about and fight the stigma against mental health issues. In the letter she wrote to Elle India before her wedding, Deepika talked about her struggle with mental health.
Deepika Padukone wrote a beautiful handwritten note to Elle India for their 22nd Anniversary issue about her battle with depression. @deepikapadukone @ELLEINDIA pic.twitter.com/aYdbCqWr22
— Ujjwal (@raindropssarii) December 20, 2018
“As some of you know, in the summer of 2014, I was diagnosed with anxiety and clinical depression. Fortunately, timely professional help coupled with support of caregivers around me, empowered me towards the path of recovery,” Deepika wrote. She added that she also realised that there were millions of others like her who were suffering in silence.
With this realization, Deepika took the difficult decision of talking about her personal journey and struggles on national television and in 2015, founded TLLLF. “The Foundation runs flagship programs to create awareness and reduce the stigma. We also fund organisations working in the field of mental health, commission research and conduct large-scale nation-wide public awareness campaigns,” the message read.
She also expressed that she was glad that TLLLF’s campaign ‘#NotAshamed’, launched a few weeks back and featuring real life survivors of mental illnesses, had been well received.
Deepika then had a message for all those struggling with mental health. “To anyone who sees darkness, I would like to say that you are not alone and that help is always available,” she wrote. Quoting Stephen Fry, she ended her letter with, “It will be sunny one day.”