Arya RaikwarBhopal, M.P.
My Journey Through Depression and Recovery
There was a period when I was struggling with depression, and it affected both my mental and physical well-being. I often felt emotionally overwhelmed, irritated, low on energy, and unable to concentrate properly. I also found it difficult to communicate with people and sometimes wanted to isolate myself. Gradually, I understood that I needed help […]
Myth vs Fact: Living with Depression
Myth: “Depression means you’re sad all the time.”Fact: I’m not always sad. Sometimes I feel nothing at all. And somehow, that emptiness can be harder to explain than sadness. Myth: “But I saw you laughing yesterday.”Fact: I laughed. I meant it too. Depression doesn’t take away every good moment; it just makes some days much […]
The Worst Moment
Most days, I am okay,I laugh, I work, I find my way.So okay that I almost forgethow quickly calm can turn to regret. Then your voice changes, a reply feels cold,a careless sentence takes its hold.My heart beats fast, my thoughts all race,and suddenly, I’m in a different place. My whole world narrows to one […]
I Swear: When Symptoms Are Mistaken for Choices
Some disorders are difficult not because they are invisible, but because they are easily misunderstood. I Swear, based on the life of Tourette syndrome advocate John Davidson, brings this gap between symptom and understanding into sharp focus. The film follows John from adolescence, when his tics become prominent, into adulthood. His involuntary movements and vocalisations […]
The Person Behind the Diagnosis: A Lived Experience
I was scared when I first walked into the Psychiatry Department at a Government Hospital. The hospital was overcrowded. Everywhere I looked, there were people in pain, waiting for treatment and hoping to feel better. My hands were shaking. Crowds were already hard for me. And because of what I was going through at the […]
When you do not speak up
Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.-Elie Wiesel, writer and Nobel laureate Nothing else helps the fight against stigma as much as advocacy does. And advocacy begins when those in power speak up. Silence is easy when it is not our suffering. But it helps to remember that […]