‘We have to get rid of the taboo attached with mental health’
Ihad posted about importance of mental health on my Instagram account the day before Sushant [Singh Rajput, actor] passed away,” says singer Antara Mitra, pointing out the uncanny coincidence. After the death of Rajput, conversations about mental health have gained immense importance in the society, but Mitra says that it is not enough. “After his death, everyone posted on their account: ‘I am just a call away’, etc., but in reality, nobody is actually just a call away. Not even your mother or your partner. They could be busy at the exact moment when you need to speak to them, and that’s why I started the campaign, #getyourselfatherapist. More often than not, normal people are not equipped to deal with a lot of mental health issues and therefore, it is very important to speak to a therapist about anything that you are feeling,” says Mitra.
The singer, who has sung songs such as Gerua (Diwale; 2015) and Aira Gaira (Kalank; 2019), says that debates about nepotism and favouritism can wait, but it is high time that we start talking about mental health. “We have all the time in the world to talk about groupism and the unfair practices of the entertainment industry. But right now, we have to get rid of the taboo attached with mental health and seeing a therapist, etc. People still find it uncomfortable to say that they are seeing someone or seeking help. And that is something that needs to be fixed. The government needs to ensure that every government hospital has a dedicated mental health ward where anybody can walk in without any apprehensions and talk about any discomfort they are feeling,” says the singer, adding that she got immense support from her music fraternity for this campaign.
Mitra admits that therapy is extremely expensive in India, and not everyone can afford it. But she says that even those who can afford it sometimes live in denial about whether they need it or not. “They also don’t go to see a therapist because they feel people will call them ‘mad’ etc. But yes, we need affordable therapists in our country and the government should help set up some reasonably priced mental health wards where everyone can go because depression is not a class specific or a gender specific or a caste specific problem. It can happen to anybody starting from a farmer, to an owner of a multi-million dollar company. And everyone deserves to seek and get help,” she signs off.