World Mental Health Day, observed on October 10 every year, focuses on raising awareness about mental health issues around the world and this year it becomes more important considering the impact the lockdown and isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic has had on lives world wide.

According to World Health Organization, given the past experience of emergencies, it is expected that the need for mental health and psychosocial support will substantially increase in the coming months and years and that is why the goal of this year’s World Mental Health Day campaign is increased investment in mental health.

Mental health awareness also holds importance in today’s time because of increased number of suicide cases amongst youth. Opoyi spoke to some of the young professionals who overcame negative thoughts with sheer courage and determination.

Sachin Mehla was raised by a single mother in a small village of Haryana, where attending school was a privilege. To make ends meet he moved to Delhi at the age of 16 and started his career with a domestic BPO.

By 2017, Sachin was working as a management consultant and was drawing a handsome salary. But the usual life stress overwhelmed him and he slipped into depression.

“I was on anti-depressants and started having suicidal tendencies but I was lucky to have been saved from my attempt to end life once. The introspection over my near-death experience changed my perspective towards life,” he said.

And from that day onwards, I made a fresh start and decided to dedicate my life to help people going through similar struggles in their daily life. I left my cushy corporate job and started studying masters in psychology and yoga science. For the past three years, I have been coaching people in my individual capacity on mindfulness and wellbeing in various schools, colleges, offices, and in rural areas to help people understand how to deal with emotional pain and mental stress,” said Sachin who also counsels underprivileged people for free and has so far helped around 600 people.

Priyanka Mullick, a 25-year-old working Marketing and Communications professional based in Mumbai, from West Bengal, has been resorting to therapy from a very young age and was seeking consultation earlier this year to deal with her anxiety disorder and combat her fear of loneliness.

“Hardly did I make any progress when the nation-wide lockdown happened. I was stuck alone in an apartment for three straight months. I experienced sleepless nights and even two panic attacks and I knew that I needed immediate help. I was stuck in an emotional black-hole from which I feared I would not be able to escape. However, I realized that the first step to the road of recovery is to discover the willingness that you deserve to have a good mental health,” she told Opoyi.

She says that “once she was determined to get better, she started communicating with her close friends and parents, whom she could trust.”

 “I listened to a lot of self-help and motivational podcasts and also referred to spiritual speakers (devoid of any religious connotations) for perspective. I slowly started going out for walks, followed a healthy diet and completely avoided watching dark content and also consciously avoided news which I knew had the potential to make me nervous. It took a while but I tried everyday and worked on myself one day at a time. Treating myself like I am treating a loved one made all the difference,” she said.

Shweta Vaid, a 26 years old PR professional from Delhi/NCR, says that the first step along the way was acknowledging the fact that “I’m depressed and that I would be able to overcome it in due time.”

“ I repeatedly told myself that the suicidal thoughts were not related to my outer reality and my circumstances had nothing to do with how I was feeling, there was something unaligned internally, may be my hormones or my own tangled thought process that was making me believe that those suffocating emotions will stay in my life permanently. Labelling or putting a finger on specific feelings is hard to accomplish and depression makes it even harder.

 “I allowed myself to feel those emotions and feelings that were coming to the surface and worked on transforming my lifestyle. Deactivating social media accounts gave me the option to consume the quality content I wanted and it also ensured a healthy mental diet,” she said.

Shwetank Tiwari, a 30-year-old Corporate Communications professional at Honda Cars India in the capital, says that his journey towards depression started with heartbreak.

“Anxiety and depression were at a peak. Initially, it was hard to explain even to my parents that what I am going through, but I was lucky enough that I had my uncle on my side who helped me a lot and explained my situation to my parents as well,” he told Opoyi.

 Then he started his session with a psychiatrist where he could speak his heart out.

“I had sleeping issues and anxiety used to make me hyper for which I was on medication for 6 months. In my sessions my doctor asked me to start doing things which I love to do it, she tried to understand the activities I used to do before and the things I love to do,” he said.

He also says that working out helped.

“In one year and two months, I was back on my feet, happy and calm. Family and friends supported me, everyone used to talk to me whenever I felt like clearing my head. At times you just need to talk and pick up things which you love to do, it diverts your mind and makes you focus. Meditation might feel tough initially but if you start practicing daily it will start healing you in a month. Today, I do multiple things like I write, trying to learn guitar, I have become a fitness freak after I left alcohol and smoke. And all the credit goes to my family, friends, and the sessions which I went to.

“Trust me, going to a psychologist or psychiatrist doesn’t mean you are mad or mentally ill. At times you just require to clear your head and look at the brighter side of life,” he said.