Mental Health has been a rising issue in the country, especially since the lockdown that drove people to isolation, loneliness, and unemployment. Now more than ever, we need to talk more about mental health and its deadly consequences. Because of the stigma around it, mental illness can make people feel very lonely. They might feel misunderstood. During this time, it helps if they have role models who they can look up to and get hope. That is why it is so important for celebrities to open up about their struggles with mental health.

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Here is a list of five celebrities who encouraged others to seek help by sharing their experiences:

Virat Kohli: Recently Virat Kohli came out with how during a low phase of his career, he was also suffering from depression. His matches were not going well and he felt like the loneliest person in this world. That is how mental health makes one feel. However, being the captain of the Indian cricket team and being under a constant spotlight, it must have taken a lot for him to open up about his struggles.

Deepika Padukone: Deepika Padukone has been mocked for coming out with her experiences regarding mental health. However, that never stopped her from speaking up about it. She has said many times that mental health is very personal to her. Her stories about her struggles with depression created space for many others to speak up.

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Anushka Sharma: Admitting to having a mental illness is difficult, saying on camera that you take medicines for it is more so. Various people have a lot of false beliefs associated with taking medicines to treat mental illness – as if it is so different from any other physical ailment. Anushka Sharma came out with her struggles with anxiety and also admitted that she takes medicines to treat it. She also reiterated that it is a biological problem so it should be treated like one.

Shah Rukh Khan: Mental Illness is common. It is only the stigma that makes things complicated. Shah Rukh Khan is an example of how, if treated, mental health can be cured too. Shah Rukh was dealing with depression during his shoulder ailment but he got cured too and later agreed that he was full of energy again.

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Manisha Koirala: Manisha has seen a lot of struggles in her life while dealing with a bad marriage and painful cancer. With such hardships, mental health is likely to fluctuate. However, Koirala didn’t shy away from asking for help. She admitted to being struggling with mental health and also asked for suggestions on social media.

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Mental Health is the elephant in the room that needs to be addressed immediately. We keep losing so many promising young lives to it – all because of the taboo and stigmas around it. However, if the right help can be found at the right time, mental health can be cured and that is what our aim as a global community should be. To make help available to all struggling with mental health is the need of the hour.