While many young Indian adults struggle with depression, this brave woman shares her inspiring struggle of finding new meaning in her life. She battled with the emotional trauma, caused by constant fighting between her parents and an ugly breakup she had with the love of her life.
Though our society is busy judging all of us, there are some very brave souls who are fighting some really difficult battles.
One such person in this young brave woman.
She recently shared her inspiring story with HoB, that we feel could inspire anyone who is going through a tough phase in life.
*TRIGGER WARNING*
“I was born and brought up in a chawl.
While growing up, both my parents would constantly fight with each other, my dad even had an alleged ‘partnership’ with a lady and that deeply disturbed my mom.
The fights got so bad that my father refused to contribute at home, and once even beat my mother black and blue with a belt.
Once when my mother got really tired of everything, she took me to the beach, to drown both me and herself. But in that moment, she realised that quitting wasn’t an option, she needed to take a stand for herself.
A few days after that, when there was another fight, my mother filed a police complaint against my father.
But after some questioning, they sent him back home. We spent a few years like that, where my dad would keep tormenting us, while my mother would threaten to complain to the police.
Soon I joined college, and that’s when I met someone who I madly fell in love with. He was 5 years older than me, he became my anchor, and I got attached to him very quickly.
But once, he suddenly told me he didn’t want to be with me anymore. I was heartbroken.
On the same day, my father and I too had a big fight. I was so exhausted of all the emotional trauma, that I decided to end my life. I went to a nearby street, stood there and drank a whole bottle of phenyl.
The next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed.
I’d been in the ICU for 4 days. My dad visited me and told me if I really wanted to commit suicide, ‘I should’ve researched better’.
I got out within one week, and realised I’d lost all of my friends, because they didn’t want to be involved with ‘someone like me’. I was the new gossip topic for my neighbourhood, and everyone saw me as a lost cause.
But that failed suicide attempt, gave me a new lease on life.
I was asked to go for counselling, and was even given medication to help me get myself together. That changed my perspective on how I viewed my life. Soon, my mom and I moved out and got ourself a house, I embraced my past and realised that I had nothing to be ashamed of.
I pursued a masters in Journalism, and after that got a job with All India Radio. It’s been a few years now, and I’m in a much better place in life.
I’ve even opened my own organisation where on different occasions, me and a few other people go out and serve tea to the police officers on duty. Of course, the scars of my past are still fresh and still bother me from time to time.
So, what I’m really trying to say is before judging someone the next time, or stereotyping them in a certain way remember that everyone, everywhere is going through something and a little bit of kindness from you, could be the difference between life and death.”
Aren’t you in awe of this brave woman who battled depression, anxiety, and trauma to build a better life for herself?
According to 2012, the World Health Organization’s report, 1 out of 4 teenagers deal with depression in India. Parental expectations and peer pressure are the main sources of anxiety and stress that affect their performance in school or college.
At I For Her, we relentlessly work to support people struggling in life with depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness.
In case you know of someone struggling with mental illness and would like to seek support, do let us know.