Have you ever felt low and have you been ridiculed for saying it out loud ?
I had lost my mother when I was 7 years old and my father has practically raised my elder brother and me single handedly. It has been a long journey of loneliness, struggles and sacrifices. After I moved out from Kolkata to Mumbai my father would often tell me about feeling low and sad. Since, I was too busy in my personal and professional life I HARDLY DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT other than being a patient listener. Things were still normal when he was clinically diagnosed as a patient of depression. He took the efforts of meeting the psychiatrist voluntarily and started with his therapies. I WAS STILL A SILENT ‘LISTENER’. My only efforts were to bring him at my place once in a while.
My world came crumbling down when one day he called me during my work hours and he was in tears. He was crying profusely and told me, “ I am getting panic attacks. Please admit me to a hospital. I feel something will happen to me.” That’s when it struck me how grave the situation was.
Depression, anxiety, panic attacks and other forms of psychological problems are still not commonly discussed though they have made room in most of the households. According to a research by India Today held in 2018, India has been declared as the most depressed country in the world. There are innumerable reasons due to which these psychological scenarios occur which might be chemical imbalance in the brain, environmental causes, social pressures and many more. Increase in the awareness has also brought about various solutions to provide support to people who suffer from such problems like therapies, medicines, etc.
But no one tells you, how as a family member, loved ones and friends you should handle such situations. It is completely UNSAID.
While the therapies and medicines serve their purpose, there are some priceless remedies which can do wonders; LOVE, SUPPORT AND BEING A PATIENT LISTENER. In our busy schedule, we forget that someone is waiting for us for whom our physical presence or a call can be comforting and assuring.
After that incident, I had brought my father to my place and actively participated in his recovery process. We started chatting with him more frequently to divert his mind. We also started assigning him small household chores which will make him active again and help him regain his confidence to be self-sufficient. Most importantly, I made my efforts to be patient. I would not say I was 100% successful but I was also a party to his efforts. Things looked up to be brighter and now he is a much happier man . I try to give him as much social support possible to help him overcome his loneliness.
Shaheen Bhatt’s I’ve Never Been (Un) Happier is her debut book which talks about her journey and her battle through depression. The book is a very honest and brave account about her daily experiences, frustrations and anger. Shaheen was diagnosed with depression at the age of 18 and even in her recent interview she has courageously accepted the illness still shadows her.
The account is about her efforts of dealing with the situation. The book also reflects those moments of her enlightenment where she tackled this problem with her family and her soliloquies in times of her loneliness.
The book has struck a chord with me deeply . I felt a lot goes into writing about such traumatic and heart broken experiences with so much of might and mental strength.
It also proves people with such problems might be mentally fragile and weak but on the flip side they are extremely strong and courageous to bring such situations under their stride.
https://www.amazon.in/Ive-never-been-happier-Penguin-ebook/dp/B07HKNBFZ2
Rating 3.5 out of 5