Actress Deepika Padukone has tried to highlight issues around mental stress and loneliness by recalling instances when she fought her own battles with mental illness in an interview with The New York Times.
She later thanked the Times for giving her a chance to raise awareness.
Thank You @nytimes for the opportunity to share my story and helping me further the cause of spreading awareness and de-stigmatising mental illness around the world... https://t.co/1youICQnhA
— Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) December 5, 2019
Her tweet was appreciated by social media users, who called her an "inspirational queen".
You are doing amazing ❤️❤️
— Deepika South FC (@DeepikaSouthFC) December 5, 2019
So proud of you 😍
Congratulations. You're doing great sweetie ❤️
— Mandar (@yourboy_md) December 5, 2019
So proud of you, never stop smiling ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zGupo0Z6Cf
— ria ✰ (@MonaDarlingx) December 5, 2019
Thank you so much for sharing your story! So proud ❤❤
— Deepika Padukone FC (@DeepikaPFC) December 5, 2019
Ily pic.twitter.com/5NhjvmXlsz
— Chhapaak 💋 (@partyypants) December 5, 2019
so proud of you Deepika. you're an inspirational queen. love you ❤️😘
— pïngs (@kaninewest) December 5, 2019
In a first-person piece, Padukone throws light on how, according to the World Health Organisation, 300 million people across the world are facing the same challenge silently and totally unaware of the what is happening to them.
She says, “Only a person close to you like your mother will only notice such things.”
The actress, who has been in hit films like “Bajirao Mastani”, “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani” and “Chennai Express” says that personal experience propelled her to open a foundation called The Live Love Laugh Foundation.
Her foundation aims to spread awareness of mental illness. The Bollywood actress said:
“We have run public health campaigns, started school programmes, conducted studies, partnered with doctors and launched a mental health care project devoted to rural parts of the country.”
