Deepika Padukone had quite a start to her week as the Bollywood actress got featured on TIME100 Impact Awards list. The 36-year-old actress shared the news with her fans via Instagram on Monday. Sharing her name being featured in the coveted list of global personalities making the top 100 list for their own contributions, Deepika added in the caption “Pretty decent start to a Monday morning I would think. Gratitude.”
Time described the producer and actress as, “Deepika wants to live as authentically as possible.” Deepika’s contribution toward mental health awareness has made her stand out, as the actress said in her Time magazine feature, “I had such a deep experience with mental illness. Not talking about it felt dishonest.” Deepika is the founder of Live Love Laugh Foundation, which works toward destigmatising mental health struggles. Deepika’s personal journey as a person who has battled depression has been quite pivotal in her journey as an advocate of mental health awareness.
Time magazine mentions that the foundation “offers a free counseling service, a training program for primary care physicians, access to government-aided schemes and livelihood training to more than 1,800 individuals in four rural districts in the states of Karnataka, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu.”
In a recent Instagram post, Deepika had also shared a helpline number for anyone seeking Mental Health support. The counseling assistance is open throughout India, and is open all seven days of the week from 10 AM-6 PM.
Last year, Deepika had held a discussion on mental health on social media platform Clubhouse. During the discussion, Deepika revealed, “It basically started in February 2014. I remember waking up one morning with this strange feeling in my stomach and it’s a feeling I don’t remember having ever felt before.”
The actress said that in the days that followed, she felt “empty, directionless” and a feeling that life had no meaning or purpose. Deepika also mentioned that she could not feel anything physically or emotionally. The actress also added that it was her mother who finally urged her to seek professional help regarding her mental health.
