Yesterday, wasn’t an easy day at all. In the midst of increasing Covid-19 cases, the heart-breaking story of Sushant Singh Rajput committing suicide surfaced. Many of us felt that 2020 couldn’t have been worse.
He was just 34. His unfortunate action of taking his own life left many not only in shock but also with a big WHY?
When some reports surfaced that he was reportedly suffering from depression and was receiving treatment for the same for the past six months, many jumped on the social media platforms to express their feelings.
But I wonder why our society did that!
Dear Society, Why do you pretend you care when you don’t?
While I do care deeply about how this young soul left us too soon, I have an issue with your half-hearted condolences on social media and more importantly – your half-committed posts on DEPRESSION IS REAL!
Because in reality, you tell people to shut and ignore depression!
Now there are some of you, who really understand how difficult it is to struggle with mental illness. I want to thank you for standing for those voiceless souls, who can never gather courage and strength to stand for themselves.
But this post is for that major segment of society, who needs a celebrity death to initiate the conversation about mental health. The ones who may be expressing their grief about Sushant’s depression and suicide on their Facebook wall or on their twitter account, but when it comes to their own kids or their wives or family members, they tell them –
Chill, relax, it’s just stress! Nothing else!
It’s all in your head! You have no reason to sad or depressed!
Try waking up early and this lethargy will go away!
Going to the therapist? But Why? Think about what people will say!
Do we really care about Sushant’s depression when we don’t care about our kids battling with Depression?
As per WHO, One in four children in the age group of 13-15 years in India suffers from depression. But we are hardly taking any steps to save our kids from this ugly devil.
As parents, we shut our eyes and ignore the mental illness of our kids and let them struggle alone. We pressurize them to focus on studies, focus on marks without even giving a second thought to their mental health.
Unfortunately, sometimes even when we want to help them, either our lack of understanding of mental illness or the thought of ‘log kya kahengey’ cripples us.
Do we really care about Sushant’s depression when we don’t care about our housewives and daughters-in-law battling with Depression?
In 2014, over 20,000 Indian housewives reportedly took their lives. In the same year, 5,650 farmers also took their lives. But you can guess which statistic made the headlines. Far too many Indian women struggle daily with depression for multiple reasons, yet, it is little discussed.
Because sadly no one cares.
Even an expert shared why is it difficult to be Indian Daughters-in-law. How she struggles with continuous anxiety and depression. And, the root cause of this anxiety and depression is our patriarchal mindset, which no one wants to change.
Also Read: Depression, Anxiety & Emotional Abuse: Why Is It Tough To Be A Daughter-In-Law In India?
Because we don’t care!
Do we really care about Sushant’s depression if we still raise our boys to not share their feelings or express their emotions?
We live in a society where young men are told not to cry. And if they do, then our patriarchal society is ready to question their masculinity. Sadly, Patriarchy is not only harmful to women, but it also chains men and forces them to behave in a certain way.
As we teach our boys that men must be strong, dominating, and warrior-like, we expect them to adhere to these masculine ideas. It leads to an emotional vacuum in their later years. This attitude makes them grow into men, who are afraid to appear caring or scared to express their emotions, which many times lead to mental illness.
Also Read: “No Shame In Showing Tears”: Sachin Tendulkar’s Open Letter To Boys & Men
But do we care?
The Bottom Line.
Dear Society, have you wondered –
Why it took a celebrity’s death to initiate the discussion on mental health?
Why just posting a message on social media make you believe that you care about mental health?
What would it take, if not death, to make you believe that Depression is REAL and its cure is neither on social media nor in your words. It’s in your actions. Change your old archaic mindset and ways to fight this silent killer!
Then we can say that you really care!
A humble request to our readers:
IFORHER’s Open letters series capture articles contributed by our community members’ with the objective to share their deepest feelings with the community. If you can relate to them, please don’t forget to drop a message for the writer.
And if you don’t please don’t judge them. We all go through different struggles in life. Just because we don’t have that struggle doesn’t mean their struggle isn’t real.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of I for Her. Authors are responsible for any omissions or errors. And, IforHer does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.