On October 10, in commemoration of World Mental Health Day, Deepika Padukone came out openly with pride of the work she has done on mental health. By spreading the message of ‘Live Love Laugh’ in the rural region she penned down a beautiful note on this occasion. She approached for a visit on the rural counterparts of Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvallaur and has a conversation with the mental health patients along with Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and ASHA workers, their caregivers.
Deepika posted on her official Instagram handle, the photographs clicked during the visit. She captioned the images as, “Since our inception, we have been relentless in our efforts to improve the lives of those experiencing mental illness, as well as the lives of their caregivers. Expanding our rural outreach program to Tamil Nadu is one more important step towards making mental health care accessible and affordable for all.”
The pictures were utterly heartwarming wherein she was seen interacting with the patients and having tea along with the team members. In one of the picture she was seen consoling a patient and wiping the tears of the patient. She also advised someone to “study hard, study well”. She averred about her visit to the mental health care center, “Definitely overwhelming. Makes you realise that there’s so much more work to be done.”
A video focusing her visit with a voiceover stating, “It’s been five years since our first rural visit. We met someone today where in the last 6 months, their life has changed. When you hear these stories first hand, is when you feel like absolutely everything that we are doing and of course, with the support of our donors, it all comes together, and gives it all meaning and purpose.”
Deepika, herself being a survivor of depression have been instrumental in acknowledging the importance of education in the society. In a recent interview to NDTV, she mentioned that “Even in my personal journey, the role of the caregiver has been extremely important that’s why my mother is here, that’s why my sister has been so passionately part of this cause for many years and also therefore when I hear the stories of the caregivers.”
