World Health Day: PM Modi’s mantra to beat depression

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants Indians to talk openly about depression to defeat the problem.

Are you feeling low and depressed? Please, don't. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of India's busiest men, recently decided to talk about depression. Usually we see politicians talk about politics, but the Prime Minister decided to dwell on depression during his last Mann ki Baat programme.

Mann ki Baat is a monthly talk show of PM Modi on radio. The programme is a mega-hit among the listeners, thus the Prime Minister talking about depression in detail will definitely help to break the silence surrounding the issue.

Moreover, this year, the theme of the World Health Day campaign is depression. The World Health Day is celebrated every year on April 7 by the World Health Organisation. "We (in India) are afraid to talk about it (depression) openly," the PM said. "The focus of World Health Day this year is depression," he added.

According to the WHO, a total of 4.5 per cent people in India suffer from depression.
"The total number of people living with depression in the world is 322 million. Nearly half of these people live in the South-East Asia Region and Western Pacific Region, reflecting the relatively large populations of those two areas which include India and China," says the WHO report, 'Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders --Global Health Estimates'.

The PM insisted that those who are depressed must share how they feel with their loved ones. "Suppression of depression is not good. Expression is always good. If depressed, share your feelings with others, it will make you feel better," PM Modi said.

"In today's India, so many young people move out of home to study and live in hostels and they don't have their loved ones to fall back on. In that sense, we are lucky to have had joint families, where if someone was feeling out of sorts it would always be noticed," he added.

PM Modi asked everyone to help each other in fighting depression."Depression can be overcome. We all can play a role in helping those suffering from depression overcome it. It's always good to share your feelings with others, if feeling depressed," he said.

OneIndia News