Mental illness is not a cool adjective... how dare you pretend when so many of us suffer from it? Would you tell me to shake it off, if I had a broken limb instead? Because I’m trying to survive each bloody day, while you tell me I’m not trying hard enough to cure myself,” these words are the tools that 20-year-old Aishwarya Kamat took to, at many public spaces, to voice out her battle against her bipolar disorder. These are the words that otherwise are given no space in our society, due to the stigma attached to it. On this World Mental Health Day, we highlight the new generation that is trying to break the taboo around mental illnesses through art, technology, music and much more.
Even as the World Health Organisation’s statistics reveal that at least 50 million Indians live with some sort of mental illness — making it one of the most depressed countries in the world — mental health still remains a subject that is spoken in hushed-up tones in our country. To break the taboo around something so grave, Chennai’s Open Sky Slam, an open mic platform, has been organising sessions to allow a dialogue on mental health — through spoken word and poetry.
“It is important that when one talks about mental health, the space is non-judgmental, and is sensitive to the issue, which open mics are. Art as a medium can be therapeutic and helps those living with mental illnesses to talk about their experiences, which the society otherwise is closed up about,” says Prem Sylvester, 20, the city coordinator of Open Sky Slam.
Bengaluru-based Indian folk band Swarathma has also recently produced their music video ‘Main Unme se Nahin Hoon’, in collaboration with White Swan Foundation for Mental Health. The song aims to make people think about mental illness and is meant to serve as a conversation starter.
We realise that there’s a huge role that music can play in spreading awareness on mental health. The way that the society is structured around mental health is so exclusive and there’s such little awareness. So, we composed this song that wouldn’t be preachy, and be sensitive towards the issue without assuming a high ground,” elaborates Jishnu Dasgupta, 37, a Swarathma band member.
“Art evokes very strong emotions and through the song we want to challenge the status quo of everyone who thinks they know everything about mental health,” Jishnu adds.
Mental Heads, founded by Crayon Impact, a social enterprise based in Mumbai, are possibly India’s first slam poetry troupe working towards crushing stigma around mental illness. This group of seven poets — Anu Elizabeth Roche, Rachana Iyer, Rohan Sabharwal, Varun Gwalani, Poulomi Roy, Aishwarya Kamat and Saurabh Mistry — have experienced/are experiencing an array of mental illnesses ranging from anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and others.
Aishwarya Kamat, 20, tells us, “It is empowering to use words to speak up about mental illnesses. Spoken word is a platform where one can be artistic, and make people relate to it. It is the kind that can hit people at the right spot. People usually tend to think mental illness is an excuse.” Rachana, the co-founder of Crayon Impact says platforms like Mental Heads, help not just in allowing those battling against mental illnesses to express themselves, but also serve as a form of livelihood through their poetry performances. The group will soon be performing across the country.
When an IIT-Guwahati alumnus Richa Singh lost a friend who committed suicide due to the pressure of landing a good placement, she decided to use technology to help those struggling with mental issues. Her team’s website and app YourDOST have so far helped over 6.5 lakh people fighting mental illnesses, by providing them with peer groups, life coaches and experts. Richa believes, “It is only when everyone starts speaking out about mental health that we can break the stigma.”
