Alia Bhatt's sister Shaheen opens up about her battle with depression in an Instagram post

The topic of mental health is slowly gaining a lot leverage in Bollywood. After Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan coming out in the open about their battle with depression, Alia Bhatt’s Dear Zindagi brought the issue centerstage; the film documents her character, Kaira’s battle with depression and insomnia.  Following this, Shaheen Bhatt, Alia Bhatt’s sister, talked about living with depression in an Instagram post. The post reads, “I’ve lived with depression on and off since I was about 13 years old. This is not a revelation or a confession. Those who know me know this about me. It’s not something I take any pains to hide, I’m not ashamed of it or particularly troubled by it. It’s just a part of who I am.” She also elaborated on how depression affects her, “I have days where I feel good and then I have days where I don’t. One minute everything’s fine and the next it’s like someone turned the light off inside my head. I go quiet and it’s difficult to get out of bed.” She also said she doesn’t think battling depression can be classified as a struggle, “Today, I’m on day 4. I say I live with depression rather than I struggle with it because for me (and I speak only for myself here) I don’t see why it has to be a struggle.It’s not something I take any pains to hide, I’m not ashamed of it or particularly troubled by it. It’s just a part of who I am.” Alia Bhatt opened up about her sister in an interview with DNA and said,“All those who are close to her know about it. It’s not as if Shaheen had never spoken about it before. She has, to her loved ones. Apart from the depression, my sister also has insomnia. So we’ve spent many sleepless nights talking.” She even posted this photo on Instagram to support Shaheen with a picture of her sister talking about depression in a daily newspaper, “My beautiful brave writer sister! Am so proud of you you little genius. I’ve never read a more honest, genuine & heartfelt piece. I love you!“Here is Shaheen Bhatt’s original post:

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