“I was working in Chennai and had a life that was as stressful as anyone my age leads. I was oblivious to the ways it was hurting me until my roommate pointed it out. On a visit to a doctor, I was told that I have acute schizophrenia. I underwent treatment and got back to my hometown to live with my parents. There’s a lot of stigma around the disorder mainly because people do not know much about it. In fact, I wasn’t sure about sharing my story with the world or telling people that I am still on medication for schizophrenia.

However, one day during the quarantine, as I was browsing through Instagram, I found a post on the Humans of Bombay page where a person was sharing his story and struggle with the world and the battle with schizophrenia. That’s when it occurred to me that there’s no taboo around it if we decide to talk. And more and more people will seek professional help if we break the shackles of shame around mental illness.

It’s been two years now, and I am under medication. As mine was triggered by stress and not an inherited condition, I should be able to stop the medicine in a few days and get back to life as it was. Had it not been for my family and friends, the battle would have been tougher to win. I only hope that everyone gets the support they deserve, and we don’t add to the stress of people by stigmatizing their struggles.”

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