Biswa Kalyan Rath, Anushka Sharma Urge You to Talk About Mental Health in Wake of Student Suicide

Comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath has a message for anyone going through a rough phase in life and grappling with depression – don’t be ashamed to ask for help.

Biswa’s message comes in the wake of a recent suicide of a student in Mumbai, who had reportedly suffered from depression. Biswa took to his Facebook page to speak candidly about not only dealing with failure in life but also his own battle with depression for several years.

In the note, he writes that due to his having been a below-average student in college, he did not get any placements through his institute. And after he did land a job, he got fired three months later. All of this, he says, made him feel like a “spectacular failure.” He writes, “These things made me feel like a spectacular failure.I was depressed for a couple of years and I lost around 8 kgs. I was thin to begin with. Thankfully I had friends to support me throughout.”

Through the years, he quietly chugged through several vocations until he hit his stride and found happiness as well. But now, he wants to ensure that anyone going through tough times doesn’t feel completely alone in life and ends up resorting to drastic measures like suicide.

He requested people to embrace failure as part of life and also seek help when they need it, noting, “Don’t be ashamed of asking for help. There is nothing wrong with depression. It is a very natural outcome of the kind of society we live in.”

Biswa wasn’t the only prominent personality to broach this sensitive subject. Actress Anushka Sharma too took to Twitter to emphasise how it is imperative to remove the taboo surrounding mental health.

THIS is why we HAVE to talk about mental health openly !! At home ! In school ! At work place ! it should NOT be a taboo! So so saddened
— Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) April 4, 2017

Additionally, the Mumbai Police through its official Twitter account has asked those struggling with suicidal thoughts to reach out to them as the force will provide the resources to help.

If you find it difficult to talk, we promise to be patient. But, you promise, that you will speak. #WeAreListening pic.twitter.com/QXQQ8oltun
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) April 5, 2017

You may also like: PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat About Depression Highlights an Issue That Deserves a Lot More Attention

Read Biswa’s full post here:

Young people in my newsfeed. College students, school students.
Another suicide has taken place. Another life is lost. I don’t know any other way to motivate you than saying this.
My CGPA in college was 6.83 out of 10 or less, I can’t remember or find that grade sheet. I almost failed in many subjects. I don’t know anything about biotechnology.
I did not get placement in any company. To put that in perspective, IITs have a near 100% placement rate.
I wasn’t good at anything then. I could play some shit on a guitar, or write a poem on some blog or click horrible photos with a DSLR camera. Complete lack of skill, completely unhirable.
My first job was a sales job and I was fired after 3 months. Monthly salary was 15k, which seems decent but all my friends were earning at least thrice the amount.
I was also going through personal problems as well, which I don’t want to get into but I was emotionally f***** as well.
These things made me feel like a spectacular failure.I was depressed for a couple of years and I lost around 8 kgs. I was thin to begin with. Thankfully I had friends to support me throughout.
After a couple of years, as I kept doing what I believed I would be good at, things started getting better slowly and steadily. I was a horrible graphic designer, a horrible web designer, a horrible coder, a horrible writer and a bad comedian for quite some time. I have embarrassed myself enough and been bad at multiple fields. But with support from close friends, I kept working at it.
Suddenly one day, things changed for the better and people who I assumed thought of me as a failure started messaging me saying they were proud of me. People started appreciating my work.
Today, I don’t feel like a failure despite whoever feels whichever way and I am happy with my life. And that’s a big deal.
Not everybody has as good friends as I did. Which is why I would like to tell you the following which I needed to hear then.
Moral of the story:
1. Failure at education system/college/school doesn’t mean failure at life, if there is such a thing. There is no correlation. Our education system focuses on competition more than knowledge. It’s outright bad.
2. If you work hard and do what you love, you will be happy. Success is secondary and it will also happen. You will win solely because so few people dare to try. Just work hard.
3. You have enough time to fail at multiple career options. Every failure is an opportunity to learn.
4. Don’t be afraid of failure. Embrace it as part of life. Life is a series of failures, punctuated by brief periods of time where things seem to be fine. The amount of success people have in a year fits into a magazine. Everything else that billions of people have done that year is considered failure.
5. Nobody will believe in you for a few years. It’s just how it is. Please believe in yourself and work hard.
6. Don’t end your life. At least give it 30 more years. Dekho, kya hota hai. Maje lo duniya ke. Life is f****** spectacular and there is so much to learn and do. Life will change so much in the next few years you won’t be able to recognise yourself.
7. Don’t be ashamed of asking for help. There is nothing wrong with depression. It is a very natural outcome of the kind of society we live in. Hota hai. Sabke saath hota hai.
8. If you notice somebody behaving odd, talk to them. Be kind. Stop judging others, stop judging yourself.
9. Don’t do drugs. Just f****** don’t. They will ruin your life

The organisation AASARA offers 24/7 suicide helpline. It can be contacted here: 022-27546669

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