One such celebrity to open up about her battle with depression is Ileana D’Cruz. 

As reported by India Today, Ileana was speaking on the final day of the 21st World Congress of Mental Health Sunday where she was awarded the Woman of Substance Award for her efforts towards raising awareness about mental health.

Ileana’s words mirror the feelings of everyone who feels depressed:

“I was always a very self-conscious person and was picked on for my body type. I used to feel low and sad all the time, but didn’t know I was suffering from depression and Body Dysmorphic Disorder till I got help. All I wanted to do was to be accepted by everyone. At one point, I even had suicidal thoughts and wanted to end things.”

While people suffering from depression, tend to not seek help thinking it will go away, and also because of the stigma attached to it, Ileana talks about how necessary it is to seek help.

“However, all of it changed when I accepted myself and what I was going through. I think that is the first step towards fighting depression. Depression is very, very real. It is a chemical imbalance in your brain, and needs to be treated. Don’t sit back and think it’ll get okay but go get help. Like you have a sprain and go get yourself checked, if you have depression, seek help. You know Winnie the pooh – he wore a crop top, ate his favorite food all day and loved himself, you can too!”

She pointed out her struggle with Body Dysmorphic Disorder and stressed that one needs to accept themselves just the way they are. 

“I am not saying that I had this miraculous recovery, every day is a process, every day is a step towards healing yourself and getting better. You are a human being and are allowed to be imperfect; you are allowed to be flawed. There is a lot of beauty in your imperfections, in your uniqueness. You may look at us actors and think that, ‘oh my god! they are so pretty, so perfect’, but that’s not how it is, it takes two hours to get ready and look like this. Love yourself for who you are and trust me if you are happy from within, you are the most beautiful person and your smile is your best asset.”

Lastly, she talked about how many people don’t realize they need help till someone points out. Also, people around the sufferer are also equally affected.

“If you think it is okay to not be happy, no it is not. You need to embrace every single day, make mental health a priority like you would for your physical health. Depression and anxiety disorder are not something to be ashamed of; I didn’t know I suffered from it till my partner told me to seek help. I visited a psychologist just to prove him wrong only to realize that my struggle is real. When suffering from depression you often feel that you are the only one who is struggling, but the truth is that your loved ones suffer too. My mother has been my biggest pillar of strength through this process and I couldn’t be luckier to have her backing me.” 

Stories of Deepika Padukone, Karan Johar and the like have made us realize that depression and other mental illnesses are real. 

More power to you, Ileana!