'You are not alone': Deepika Padukone launches mental health campaign in schools

Deepika Padukone, who opened up about dealing with depression earlier, will launch an awareness campaign that will take her fight against the condition forward. Deepika will spread awareness about depression through her NGO The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF). [caption id=“attachment_2609432” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Deepika Padukone. AFP image.[/caption] The programme titled ‘You Are Not Alone’ will be launched on Wednesday. It will focus on educating high school students and teachers on stress, anxiety and depression, while also aiming to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental health. “Last year, I spoke about my own fight with depression as I felt I could not just sit by and watch as people who were going through what I had gone through. So, we decided to launch ‘You Are Not Alone’ with an idea to raise awareness and to enable students and teachers to identify signs of anxiety and depression,” Deepika said in a statement. Starting with Deepika’s own alma mater Sophia’s High School in Bengaluru, the awareness campaign will cover over 500 schools in the year. “We believe that schools can be the first line of defence for emotional and mental health disorders in our youth. We could also help connect the schools to counselling organisations and independent counsellors if they need such help,” Deepika said. “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,” added the Tamasha actress, who launched her NGO in June 2015 after she came out about her personal fight against depression. IANS