Battling Mental Illness Since She Was 12, Shaheen Bhatt Shares Her Heart-Wrenching Story

In a heart-breaking post on Humans of Bombay, Shaheen Bhatt has opened up about how mental illness was a part of her life since she was just 12-years-old.?

?Shaheen went onto explain how no one spoke about mental illness at that time so the idea of seeking help or therapy felt alien to her.?

"Mental illness has been a part of my life ever since I was 12. I woke up one day and felt empty, hollow and just... confused," she said.?

"No one really spoke about mental illness back then. I thought of myself as a typical teenager - one who was irritable, slept too much and never left her room and that she refused to get help for six years because she "didn't want to seem 'weak or crazy."

?Alia Bhatt's elder sister went onto further state what triggered her anxiety.?

"There was a photoshoot incident with Alia & Pooja where I was asked to step out of the frame as I was overweight & much darker. Incidents like these, along with schoolmates making fun of my weight made me feel like I wasn’t good enough."

Shaheen also shared how for 6 years she avoided therapy because she didn't want to be labeled as crazy or weak. It was only when she was suicidal that she decided to seek help.?

Bhatt ended by saying how "I don’t wait for things to go bad to take care of my mental health,"?

This is a super important message for people to take out time and focus on their mental health and if need be, ask for help before things get out of control. It takes immense courage to speak about depression and mental health which are still considered taboo in our society. And we hope Shaheen Bhatt's life can inspire others to improve their own.?