I Had Been Depressed In The Past. So What?

This is mental Health Awareness Week. I still have a day to go. I listened to the girl's voice on, " Talking Takes Courage". I listened. It was so explicit and heart warming. I could feel every word that was spoken which I believe came with the strongest conviction. It was not just a voice over. I have spent 20 years plus in Mental Health as a Psychiatrist and a Resident and Intern. I believed and still hold on to the hope that I could make a difference. I am all in.

My faith comes from my parents and the religion I am exposed to. But my experiences have come from people of all faith. The suffering is common. The stigma is no less. But they are people, people like you and me, born to parents who had wishes for their growth and potentials. They didn't lose out because they didn't care, nor was any effort wasted. They longed to be normal and simple, they wanted to laugh and cry, speak and be spoken to. But life took a turn for them, not in a way they intended. It is hard to fathom and difficult for themselves to accept. They didn't ask to be sidelined nor did they want to be who they turned out to be.

In some the wiring in brain was not right. To some, the family they were born to was not right. To some, the situations they were exposed to was not right. To some, life dealt a hand that was not right. They got to be labeled as Depressed, Bipolar, PTSD, ADHD and a lot others that could not help in making a life they chose to just because the scars these illnesses left behind was too hard to conceal.

They were taken to a place of not their choosing, but made them accept for who they have become. They understood the society's concern but felt a void when it came to theirs. No one did they find to put an arm around them and talk proudly of their relationship when they were eager to say it aloud, that "this family I belong to". Every Mentally Ill Person, wants the acceptance of the society we live in. Is it too much to ask?.