Deepika Padukone Wins Award For Raising Awareness On Mental Health

The ‘Mastani’ of Bollywood made headlines when came out in the open about her fight with depression in 2015. Actress Deepika Padukone has now been honoured by the 26th Annual Crystal Award for raising mental health awareness. She was also named amongst Forbes’ highest paid film actresses in the world.

“With more than 300 million people suffering with the illness, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability in the world today and a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. It is therefore increasingly clear that, now more than ever before, we need to aggressively address what is an invisible and overlooked health and social burden,” Deepika was quoted as saying by news agency IANS adding that she is honoured to receive the award.

"The launch of ‘You Are Not Alone’ is our humble attempt to equip school students and teachers to deal with mental health challenges that they, their friends or their family members may confront.”

Deepika is also the only Indian actress to feature in Davos 2020 winners list.

“I am humbled and deeply honoured to be chosen for this year's Crystal Award and dedicate the award to the millions around the world who experience stress, anxiety and depression and other forms of mental illness,” the actress added.

Key Takeaways:

• Deepika Padukone has been honoured by the 26th Annual Crystal Award for raising mental health awareness. She came out in the open about her fight with depression in 2015.
• “With more than 300 million people suffering with the illness, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability in the world today,” the actress said.
• Currently, Deepika is prepping for the release of Meghna Gulzar-directed Chhapaak in which she is portraying acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.

On the work front, Deepika is prepping for the release of Meghna Gulzar-directed Chhapaak. The film is co-produced by Deepika and Meghna and is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.

Also Read: You Are Not Alone says Deepika Padukone on depression

Deepika led mental health awareness campaign in Bollywood and attracted support from the entire industry.  ‘You Are Not Alone’ was the initiative launched by the actor’s NGO The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLF) in 2016. This educational and awareness programs in schools, students focused to subjects of stress, anxiety and depression in order to raise the level of understanding of mental health issues.

“Our aim is to bring the issue of mental health from the shadows and include this discussion in drawing room conversations from being spoken of in hushed tones,” Deepika had said as being one of the reasons for such an initiative.

“With more than 300 million people suffering with the illness, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability in the world today and a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease."

During the launch of the campaign, the actress had expressed, “We believe that schools can be the first line of defence for emotional and mental health disorders in our youth and we look forward to working closely with school managements to enhancing mental health awareness in these institutions. The launch of ‘You Are Not Alone’ is our humble attempt to equip school students and teachers to deal with mental health challenges that they, their friends or their family members may confront.”

Also read: I Can Quit Everything And Live The Life I Was Living In Bangalore: Deepika Padukone

Feature Image Credit: My Choice Short Film

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