Deepika Padukone has established herself as the face and spokesperson for mental health in India and worldwide over the years. the actress, producer, and philanthropist profiled on Meghan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex’s podcast ‘Archetype.’
The episode, which also stars American actress Constance Wu, goes in-depth on the value of treating our minds with the same respect as our bodies.
Deepika told Meghan that mental health is treated in the same way that physical illnesses are treated. Our body and mind are intertwined in many ways. However, when it comes to mental disease, we begin to treat our minds as if they were separate from our bodies.
Mental health and talking about it are still frowned upon in many countries, including India.
Deepika broke this down beautifully, ‘There’s two parts to this. One is, I think, where people struggle the most, especially in India, where there’s so much stigma attached to mental illness – creating awareness. Most of us don’t even know that we’re struggling with mental illness. And second, if we are to destigmatize it, to let people know that it’s okay to seek help and to let caregivers know that it’s okay for someone to go through this.’
For Deepika, her family has been a critical support system. She says, ‘Today it’s all about the little things, like hugging my sister or just late-night conversations with my husband – those are the moments that really fill me up today’.
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