GUWAHATI: Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone received Crystal Awards at Davos, Switzerland for her work on raising awareness on mental health issues.
During her speech she spoke about challenges regarding mental health issues as well as her own struggle with depression and the work of Live Love Laugh foundation will deal with the issue of mental health and helps those suffering from depression.
She said, "In the time it has taken me to accept this award, the world has lost one more person to suicide. One trillion dollars is the estimated impact of depression and mental illness on the world economy."
"Depression is a common medical illness. It is important to understand that anxiety and depression are like any other illness and are treatable. Acceptance is the first step to recovery. It was the experience with this illness that encouraged me to set up Live Love Laugh," she added.
When Deepika Padukone first spoke concerning her struggles with depression and mental state in 2015, she shocked a nation that wasn't used to its celebrities being so vocal concerning their vulnerabilities and failings.
Deepika also talked about her depression and how her parents and loved ones helped her. Talking about the depression of her elder daughter, Deepika's mother Ujjala Padukone had said in an earlier interview, "I detected the symptoms in Deepika and I thought it may be due to some boyfriend issue. But then I knew the depression is due to mental and physical stress and we realized that we should take help from a psychiatrist". Deepika's father Prakash Padukone added, "I was worried about the health of my daughter and we wanted her to be fine."