7 times Deepika Padukone motivated her fans with open conversations on depression and anxiety

In 2015, Deepika Padukone decided to talk about her struggle with stress and anxiety with the world. The main objective behind this decision was to give hope and encourage others like her to break the social stigma. Recently, she is in the news as Deepika and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will engage in a discussion. Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown have affected the mental health of the people. The 'Bajirao Mastani' actress took to her social media to announce the same. So, we decided to revisit some of her strong quotes on battling depression that are super inspiring!

The actress received the Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The actress chose the platform to talk about mental health. She said: “Mental illness has presented us all with a very tough challenge, but in my love hate relationship with the illness has taught me much. To be patient for one, that you are not alone, but most importantly that there is hope,” said Deepika in her acceptance speech. She concluded her note by quoting Martin Luther King and she said, “For in the words of Martin Luther King, everything that is done in this world is done with hope.”

Deepika came forward and spoke about her battle with clinical depression and how she overcame it. The actress told IANS, “We need to stigmatize mental illness and spread awareness about mental health. I know in the current scenario we lead stressful lives but you have to keep reminding yourself that it is important to live, love and laugh. After all that is what life is all about. Most importantly for people like me who have had an experience with anxiety and depression, I think it is important to know that there is hope."

The actress spoke at length about Mental health awareness at an event in Delhi. She told PTI, "As far as the conversation around the causes of mental health is concerned, I think we've come a long way. But we certainly have a long way to go in terms of creating more awareness''.

The actress started a lecture series with the help of Live Love Laugh Foundation. She said: "(It's about) inviting from different professions from various parts of the world, but most importantly, people who are passionate about mental health and have them talk to us about their journey, their experience," she told PTI.

In an interaction with PTI, the 'Padmaavat' actress talk about her battle. She says that she is happy to share her journey with everyone. “Sharing my experience with depression made me feel lighter. It was like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, I felt transparent with no fear of being judged. Just felt that it was important for me to share something that was very personal to me, something that had changed my life, and something that I felt had a lot of stigma when I was experiencing it,” DP told PTI.

In an interaction with Filmfare, Ranveer was quizzed about how he dealt with Deepika when she was in depression. To which he said, “Whoever is suffering has to get over it themselves. It has to come from inside.” He was further questioned about if her depression impacted their relationship in any way, to which Ranveer replied saying, “That’s okay. I had made up my mind a long time back that she’s the one for me. So, I was...I was unfazed.”

Back in 2016, the actress was speaking at the launch of a nationwide campaign to bring awareness about psychological disorders, on World Mental Health Day. She broke down on stage as she started talking about her personal struggle with depression "When I shared my story first, I did not feel any stigma or shame attached to it. And, the reason I came out in the open about it was because I just did not want to feel what I was feeling, I did not let depression to get the better of me," she said. "So, I think the root cause is stigma. And the day we as a society can together get over that stigma and bring awareness about mental health issues, we will win this battle," PTI reported.