“I was born and brought up in Pondicherry. After my marriage, I moved to Chennai to my in-laws and I was a home maker. The initial 8 years of my marriage were blissfully busy with kids and adjusting life around their whims and fancies. But due to some unfortunate stroke of luck, my husband had to move to a different country for work. This was quite unexpected and I didn’t think it would be this stressful.
With the additional responsibilities, a deep void started to develop which I think is pretty common in every home maker’s journey. The void started to get to me and I fell into the deep well of depression. And like with every other mental illness, it took me a while to make sense of it but, it was a real testing period.
For one, I didn’t have a single source of help. Society in general doesn’t understand the depth of depression or its trauma. People suffering with depression, especially women, are largely ignored and given unwarranted advices like “Think positive, it’s all in your head”. My case was no different, starting from my husband to my own sibling. I was largely discouraged from talking about it and with no one to go to, I started to keep it all inside and it did nothing to help me.
Understanding that there was no help coming, I decided to take things into my own hand. I enrolled for badminton classes and meeting friends there, I started to ease up a little. It was a welcome solace from the darkness. And then another friend of mine suggested tai-chi, a martial art program, which focuses on calming the senses through physical moves.
It was then that the most appropriately timed quarantine came into place and I have made the most of this time with my family. I practice yoga and meditation every day with my kids and I have started reading. Even if I were to go back to the busy schedule of my earlier life, I would know better than to complain and rather be grateful.
To anyone reading this, I would just wish to say that if anyone approaches you for help, please do not step into the advice zone and start doling out solutions; rather take a simple minute to sit them down and listen to them. Trust me, it would do a world of difference to them!”

#Family #Marriage #Depression #Society #Trauma #MentalHealth #MartialArts #Quarantine #Yoga #Meditation #Balance #Motivation #Support #Madras #HumansofMadras