Alia Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt’s talented daughter is the talk of the town, thanks to her recent successes at the box office. However, what many don’t know is that his other daughter, 30-year-old Shaheen, has lived with and fought depression for the longest time. Sometimes, one wonders, if being a compassionate sister has helped turn Alia into such a fine actor. But first Shaheen. In the wake of not one, but two high profile suicides in the last couple of days, mental health and depression are issues that cannot be ignored anymore. Writing in Vogue India, Shaheen has elaborately discussed her own battle against depression and what it takes to be on top of it. Shaheen you are brilliant! My sister has battled and lived with depression since she was 12. She speaks her heart out and without any hesitation addresses the giant elephant in the room - Mental health and the LACK of our understanding & acceptance! https://t.co/ih0PmzujYl — Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) June 14, 2018 She begins her piece about how she read the devastating news of Antony Bourdain’s untimely death. She explains futher that when those tears rolled down her eyes, she wasn’t simply mourning for Boundain and fashion designer Kate Spade (who too ended her life, aged 55) but Shaheen was crying for herself and how she too had, in the past, had come within spitting distance of ending her own life due to depression. The thought that it could have been her was totally unnerving. “I was crying because every time I hear of someone who was unable to go on living with the darkness within them, I’m reminded of how that could have just as easily been me,” she wrote in Vogue India. She goes on to add how she had been suicidal on more than one occasion. “I’ve lived with depression since I was 12 years old and since then I’ve been suicidal on more than one occasion. I’ve experienced the sheer terror of contemplating a life filled with unrelenting anguish, and I’ve been consumed by the terrifying thought of having but a single means of escape from a bleak, unbearable future.” Shaheen goes on to say how she has lived with depression since she was 12 years old. She says how she has had problems even talking about it for option she would be accused of being too negative and over sharing and yet not talking about it is not an option today. She talks of how suicide is global problem of alarming dimensions and quotes WHO figures. Shaheen’s revelation of how fear gripped her when she realised that depression was getting at not just 20 and 30 years old, but people in the 60s is telling. She illustrates, giving an example from Bourdain’s quotes, about how depression has no apparent reason. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10<doc-sep>Shaheen Bhatt knows that last week was a difficult one for many as fans processed the suicides of both Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. That’s why she decided to write about her own experiences with depression in a new essay for Vogue India. “At first glance, I was sure I had misread the headline, so I instinctively pulled my phone up close to my face to reread it,” wrote Bhatt, who is the older sister of actress Alia Bhatt. “Unbidden, the first thought that flared from the hazy recesses of my mind was ‘Oh God, no. Not another one.’” Bhatt went on to explain that not only was she a huge fan of Bourdain’s (beginning from the moment she read his book ‘Kitchen Confidential’) but that the news of his death combined with the loss of Kate Spade days earlier forced her to think more about her own struggles with mental illness. “I love Bourdain, but that wasn’t the only reason I was crying,” she explained. “I was crying because every time I hear of someone who was unable to go on living with the darkness within them, I’m reminded of how that could have just as easily been me.” Bhatt detailed how she first showed signs of depression at the age of 12 and that she had battled suicidal thoughts on more than one occasion. “Depression is everywhere, and still, it is nowhere,” she noted. “While there has been a definite upswing in conversation about depression and mental illness, it’s still such a taboo that we tend to talk about it in hushed tones and whispers.” For her part, Bhatt hopes that her decision a year and a half ago to share her experiences with depression on social media will help others break the silence and stigma surrounding the disease. Since she published her must-read essay on Thursday, fans and members of the Bollywood community have sent her public messages of support. Some of the most touching of those tweets came from members of her own family. “Shaheen, you are brilliant,” Alia Bhatt wrote in a widely shared tweet. Shaheen you are brilliant! My sister has battled and lived with depression since she was 12. She speaks her heart out and without any hesitation addresses the giant elephant in the room - Mental health and the LACK of our understanding & acceptance! https://t.co/ih0PmzujYl — Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) June 14, 2020 Their father, director and screenwriter Mahesh Bhatt, also chimed in. “She is made of ‘stars.’ She shines in the dark night of the soul. This is young India,” he wrote. She is made of ‘stars’. She shines in the dark night of the soul. This is young India . Shaheen Bhatt on the recent suicides: “It could have been me.” https://t.co/6OeiJUDsih via @vogueindia — Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) June 14, 2020 Sister Pooja Bhatt praised Shaheen’s courage in speaking out. “To look the Universe in the eye while holding your supposed frailties to light is an attribute of the truly courageous & brave,” she said. My warrior queen of a sister Shaheen Bhatt wrote this stunning article. To look the Universe in the eye while holding your supposed frailties to light is an attribute of the truly courageous & brave. Well done beautiful one! You make us all so proud! https://t.co/BwN1td56Rz — Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) June 15, 2020 If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or depression you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for other sources of support.<doc-sep>Shaheen Bhatt photographed with Alia (Image courtesy: shaheenb) Highlights She has made a reference to Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade's deaths "It could have been me," Shaheen wrote Shaheen has opened up about 'living with depression' in 2016 "I've lived with depression since I was 12-years-old and since then I've been suicidal on more than one occasion. I've experienced the sheer terror of contemplating a life filled with unrelenting anguish, and I've been consumed by the terrifying thought of having but a single means of escape from a bleak, unbearable future," read an excerpt from Alia Bhatt's sister Shaheen's article for Vogue magazine, in which she has opened up about her battle with depression. The article is in wake of celebrity chef-food critic Anthony Bourdain and celebrated fashion designer Kate Spade's deaths. Both of them had committed suicide and depression is suspected to be the driving factor. The headline of her article for Vogue reads as, "Shaheen Bhatt on the recent suicides: "It could have been me." In November 2016, Shaheen has opened up about 'living with depression' via a lengthy Instagram post. In the Vogue article, Shaheen has explained how her eyes were filled with tears when she learnt about Anthony Bourdain's death. She made a reference to her battle with depression and wrote, "I was crying because every time I hear of someone who was unable to go on living with the darkness within them, I'm reminded of how that could have just as easily been me." "'A bad airport hamburger can send me into a spiral of depression that can last for days'," Anthony Bourdain confessed on a 2016 episode of Parts Unknown. I feel kind of like a freak and I feel kind of isolated. I remember watching that episode and thinking 'Yes. Exactly'," she added. Explaining depression, she wrote that it's 'shame, isolation.' "And at its worst, depression leads to suicide," she wrote for Vogue. Shaheen has given a reference to WHO's figures which says that approximately 800,000 people die due to suicide every year and more than 50 per cent are said to be caused by depression. "Every day that we shy away from the subject, someone plunges further into their depressive hole, isolating themselves and believing they're freaks. Every minute that we continue to stay silent we lose one more person to the horrors of depression and suicide. Every second that we choose comfort over reality we fail another Anthony and another Kate. Talking about depression is no longer an option, it's a matter of life and death," she concludes Read Shaheen Bhatt's article here Alia shared her sister's article on social media and wrote, "Shaheen, you are brilliant! My sister has battled and lived with depression since she was 12. She speaks her heart out and without any hesitation addresses the giant elephant in the room - Mental health and the lack of our understanding & acceptance!" Shaheen you are brilliant! My sister has battled and lived with depression since she was 12. She speaks her heart out and without any hesitation addresses the giant elephant in the room - Mental health and the LACK of our understanding & acceptance! https://t.co/ih0PmzujYl — Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) June 14, 2018 Last month, it was also reported that Shaheen is writing a book describing her battle with depression. Meanwhile, just earlier this week, Deepika Padukone, who also opened up about her battle with depression in 2015, shared a long Instagram post about depression, in reference to Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade's death. Deepika had founded the NGO Live Love Laugh Foundation to help those with mental illness. In her exclusive interview to NDTV in 2015, Deepika had said, "If I can impact one life in this entire process of speaking up and letting people know that it's something I have been through and something that I could deal with because I had a fantastic support system."<doc-sep>On a snoozy, muggy, pre-monsoon afternoon I woke from a peaceful mid-day slumber to find my phone flooded with social media notifications and messages. At first glance, I was sure I had misread the headline, so I instinctively pulled my phone up close to my face to reread it. “Celebrity Chef Anthony Bourdain, age 61, found dead in his France hotel room from an apparent suicide”, the headline read. As my mind slowly went from drowsy to wakeful, I struggled to piece together and make sense of the words staring at me from my screen. Unbidden, the first thought that flared from the hazy recesses of my mind was “Oh God, no. Not another one.” It was only days earlier that the fashion industry (and much of the world) had been shaken to its core by the suicide of one its most prominent and recognisable designers, Kate Spade, at the age of 55. And now, once again, every news outlet was buzzing with the details of yet another sudden and shocking death. As the news started pouring on global feed, my eyes filled with tears. A few minutes later, I was heaving with sobs. I love Bourdain, I've been a fan of his ever since I read Kitchen Confidential and I closely followed his shows No Reservations and Parts Unknown. I marvelled at his no-nonsense screen presence, his natural humour and his effortless ability to turn the foods he was eating into almost living, breathing characters. I love Bourdain, but that wasn't the only reason I was crying. I was crying because every time I hear of someone who was unable to go on living with the darkness within them, I'm reminded of how that could have just as easily been me.<doc-sep>
Actress Alia Bhatt's sister Shaheen Bhatt has opened up about her own struggle with depression in the wake of last week’s reported suicides of fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. In an article for Vogue magazine, Shaheen revealed that she had lived with depression on and off since she was about 12 years old. She added more to her thoughts, writing she had been "suicidal on more than one occasion." "I've experienced the sheer terror of contemplating a life filled with unrelenting anguish, and I've been consumed by the terrifying thought of having but a single means of escape from a bleak, unbearable future," read an excerpt from Shaheen's article. Shaheen's article also mentioned about Bourdain's death and how her eyes "filled with tears" after she read the news of his death. "I love Bourdain, I’ve been a fan of his ever since I read Kitchen Confidential. I marvelled at his no-nonsense screen presence, his natural humour and his effortless ability to turn the foods he was eating into almost living, breathing characters. I love Bourdain, but that wasn’t the only reason I was crying. I was crying because every time I hear of someone who was unable to go on living with the darkness within them, I’m reminded of how that could have just as easily been me." Shaheen further encouraged those suffering in silence to start communicating as "talking about depression is no longer an option, it’s a matter of life and death." "Every day that we shy away from the subject, someone plunges further into their depressive hole, isolating themselves and believing they’re freaks. Every minute that we continue to stay silent we lose one more person to the horrors of depression and suicide. Every second that we choose comfort over reality we fail another Anthony and another Kate," she concluded. Alia also took to Twitter to commend her sister for speaking up. She wrote: "Shaheen you are brilliant! My sister has battled and lived with depression since she was 12. She speaks her heart out and without any hesitation addresses the giant elephant in the room - Mental health and the LACK of our understanding & acceptance!"