Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone is one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses today. Her rise has been steady and meteoric right from the time she made her scintillating debut in Om Shanti Om. However, the actress startled everyone by coming out and accepting that she underwent depression and had to resort to therapy, counseling, and medication. Today, on World Mental Health Day she shared a powerful message on her social media accounts for the awareness of depression.

In the video that Deepika shared, she used the hashtag #NotAshamed and said, “In 2014, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. But in India, 90 percent of people who suffer from depression don't seek help. Depression is like any other illness that requires intervention."

RECOMMENDED READ: #TheUnstoppable: Deepika Padukone rules the latest cover of Femina India

https://twitter.com/deepikapadukone/status/1049950783507222528

Deepika has opened up about depression and the need to get mental illness recognized and treated at the earliest. She had revealed previously in an interview to a leading daily that it was her mother Ujjala Padukone who realized the problem and got in touch with a psychologist to get it treated.

Deepika shared the video in the hope that people who are suffering from mental illness will not feel ashamed not made to feel any less than any regular patient. She has urged people to share their story of mental health so that it can empower others who are suffering in silence. She has also opened the Live Love Laugh foundation to help people battle depression.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slWuyvucTrE