Deepika Padukone recalls her struggle with depression, says mom realised when my cry was different

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Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has recalled her battle with depression. The actress who is married to Ranveer Singh, has not only been vocal about mental health but has also inspired many with her story of battling depression. She recently spoke about her decision to open up on her struggles with depression in the public domain. During a Clubhouse session, Deepika revealed how she broke down and her mother Ujjala Padukone realised the way she cried was 'different' and 'it wasn’t the usual boyfriend issue or stress at work'.

During the session, the actress shared, "It basically started in February 2014...I felt empty, directionless and it just felt life had no meaning or purpose. I couldn’t feel anything physically or emotionally. I just felt this void... I felt this for days, weeks and months until one day my family was here and they were going back home and when they were packing their bags, I was sitting in their room and suddenly broke down."

"That’s when my mother realised for the first time that something was different. My cry was different. It wasn’t the usual boyfriend issue or stress at work. She kept asking me if it was this or that. I couldn’t pinpoint one specific reason. It was her experience and presence of mind that she encouraged me to seek help," the actress said. 

Further, she shared, "I keep saying that there’s not a day that goes by without me thinking about my mental health. To ensure I don’t go back into that space, it’s very important for me to focus on the quality of my sleep, nutrition, hydration, exercise, how I process stress and my thoughts and mindfulness. These are the things I have to do on a daily basis not because they are fancy words or it’s cool to do this but I won’t be able to survive if I don’t do all these things."

Deepika, recently launched the 'Frontline Assist' initiative to provide mental health support to the country's frontline workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As people are facing a strong negative impact of COVID-19 on their mental health, the actress has decided to join hands with Sangath, a non-profit organisation that is committed to improving health and evidence-based interventions in mental healthcare. 

Meanwhile, on the professional front, Deepika, who announced her departure from Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) in April, has an impressive line-up of projects in the pipeline including '83', 'Baiju Bawra', 'Fighter', 'Sanki', 'Pathan', and the Indian adaptation of Nancy Meyers's 2015 hit Hollywood film 'The Intern' which will feature megastar Amitabh Bachchan too.

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