Alia Bhatt Lauds Her Sister Shaheen Bhatt’s Strength To Fight Depression On World Mental Health Day

On World Mental Health Day, Alia Bhatt appreciated her sister, Shaheen Bhatt’s constant effort to overcome depression, and start an initiative to better the lives of others who are suffering.

Updated: Friday, October 11, 2019, 2:31 [IST]

As the world celebrates Mental Health Day today, October 10, it is important to note that Bollywood celebrities have brought about awareness on this issue in recent years. From Deepika Padukone to Alia Bhatt's sister Shaheen Bhatt, many have strived to break the stigma of mental health in India.

On World Mental Health Day, Alia took to her Instagram to appreciate Shaheen's constant effort to overcome her mental health struggles, and also start an initiative to better the lives of others who are suffering.

Alia Praises Her Sister Shaheen On World Mental Health Day

Alia shared a beautiful picture of Shaheen and wrote, "I am so so proud of you @shaheenb And of @herecomesthesunofficial. You have taken something so personal and made it a symbol of strength and empathy."

She continued, "No one needs to be alone as they struggle with mental health, battling their own fears and anxiety. Sometimes all you need to know that you're not alone!!! I'm here a 100%.. to start the conversation, to raise awareness and to join you on this journey, EVERY step of the way @herecomesthesunofficial #WorldMentalHealthDay." (sic)

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I am so so proud of you @shaheenb ☀☀☀ And of @herecomesthesunofficial You have taken something so personal and made it a symbol of strength and empathy. No one needs to be alone as they struggle with mental health, battling their own fears and anxiety. Sometimes all you need to know that you're not alone!!! I'm here a 100%.. to start the conversation, to raise awareness and to join you on this journey, EVERY step of the way @herecomesthesunofficial #WorldMentalHealthDay

A post shared by Alia 🌸 (@aliaabhatt) on Oct 10, 2019 at 1:40am PDT

Shaheen has been battling depression and anxiety for over a decade now. She has been a strong advocate for breaking mental health taboos and spreading awareness. Shaheen opened up about her story in her autobiographical book titled, 'I've Never Been (Un)Happier'. Today, she launched an initiative called, 'Here Comes The Sun' with an Instagram post.

As she explains in her post, the initiative began with the idea to let people suffering from mental illnesses know that they are not alone in their struggles, and to provide friendly support. It also aims to raise awareness, and end the taboo around the topic.

"Here comes the sun is a friendly voice reminding you that you aren't alone, it's an effort to raise awareness about mental health, to start a conversation, and to help end the taboo and the stigma surrounding it. The first step to all of this is to just say hello our demons. So I'm starting off by saying Hello to my depression and anxiety," she wrote.

Check out the full post here -

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Repost • @herecomesthesunofficial #HereComesTheSun was born from a simple idea. The idea that we are not alone. None of us are alone in our struggles and journeys with mental health- we all have the same fears and we all hope for the same things. Here comes the sun is a friendly voice reminding you that you aren’t alone, it’s an effort to raise awareness about mental health, to start a conversation, and to help end the taboo and the stigma surrounding it. The first step to all of this is to just say hello our demons. So I’m starting off by saying Hello to my depression and anxiety. The first time I felt it, I was twelve and approaching my 13th birthday. I thought that the niggling feelings of unease creeping up on me had to do with the fact that I had recently gained a lot of weight and was being teased for it at school. So,lI spent 4 months starving myself and lost all the weight before my 13th birthday rolled around. Surprise surprise: not only did those painful, uneasy feelings stay put, they got worse with every passing day. I spent a lot of time oblivious and unaware that those feelings could be something more. I spent a lot time in denial when I learned they were something more. And then, I spent even more time angry and bitter because depression was the big, scary monster under my bed that was ruining my entire life. But here’s the thing about monsters: they can only live in the dark. If you turn on the light you’ll see that what you thought was a monster, isn’t a monster at all. And the way you turn on the light is by acknowledging it and talking about it. So, I turned on the light, poked my head under the bed and said “Hello” to my monster. That simple act has changed how I deal with every bad day that has come since. It didn’t magically fix me - I’m in the midst of a depressive episode as I write this - but at least I no longer spend all my time and energy avoiding the elephant in the room. With my energy refocused I can spend time on what’s important - looking after myself. Now, I just take each day as it comes, secure in the knowledge that there’s nothing hiding under my bed - except maybe one of my cats. #HelloAnxiety #HelloDepression

A post shared by 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭 (@shaheenb) on Oct 10, 2019 at 1:39am PDT