“I’m a single child to highly educated parents. I grew up in a protected environment and got everything I had asked for. In fact, it wasn’t just my parents but even my friends, who treated me like a little princess. I studied in a girls’ missionary school, where everybody is equal irrespective of their background. It wouldn’t be too much to say that my life changed when I had decided to move to the US for an MBA degree. I was studying in New York. That was my first time alone, in a new country, with no friends and family. All my classmates were much older to me, so I didn’t have many friends. For the first six months, I spent every night crying myself to sleep. I thought I was homesick. I went home during fall and was quite happy. But I had to come back and I was dreading it. Once I was back, everything was depressing again. The only time I felt better in NYC was during the summers. Nobody would understand why I was feeling that way. People would say things like your dad is spending so much and you’re wasting his money. It took me a while to meet one of my professors and open up to him. It was then that I realised that I was suffering from climatic depression. It wasn’t easy – shifting to the US, going through everything and dealing with depression. But after all these years, I’ve realised that we’re in a competitive environment, thriving for success and happiness. Stress has become inevitable that we don’t even realise that it is affecting our mental health in many ways. We can’t run away from that fact. All we can do is come to terms with it and work it out. One shouldn’t be ashamed or afraid to take help when it comes to mental health.

I am back in Hyderabad working in the field of digital marketing for Annapurna Studios. I love what I am doing right now. I am in a happy marriage and enjoy every bit of my life. No matter how happy or stressed I am, I ensure I give utmost importance to mental health. All I can say is accept yourself, let go of things that bother you, smile often and take care of yourself both physically and mentally.”

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