Bollywood actor Manisha Koirala, who played a lead role in Heeramandi opened up about how her battle with cancer impacted not only her physical health but also her mental well-being. She has been struggling with episodes of depression while shooting. With her acting career at its peak, Koirala was diagnosed with the fourth stage of ovarian cancer in 2012. At this stage, it was difficult to surgically remove the cancer since it had advanced to other organs of the body. She relocated to the US for treatment and after two years, she won over cancer. With such a struggle comes vulnerability to mental health, she revealed how she dealt with depression during the time of shooting Heeramandi.
What is depression?
“I am feeling depressed today” is something that many people frequently use in their expressions. However, it’s not wrong as feelings can be interpreted on personal preferences. It is equally important to understand depression as a severe mental disorder and for people who are suffering with it, their situation should not be dismissed as just a phase or a one-time feeling.
How to know if you or someone else is depressed?
Observing how your feeling goes daily can develop a sense of awareness about your mental well-being. Continuous feelings of low mood, difficulty and disturbances in sleeping and eating, loss or lesser of interest in everyday work, and putting too much energy in work of day-to-day tasks; are the symptoms that are signs of seeking professional help.
Cancer and Depression
Cancer is one of the severe illnesses that significantly affects all aspects of a person’s life. Many studies have shown that the prevalence of manifesting depression with cancer is quite high, this often goes unnoticed. People who have cancer, have to undergo treatments like chemotherapies, with a lack of certainty whether they will survive or not, cancer patients often feel hopeless. It is difficult for them to have an intersection where expectations and brutal reality meet. Even for last-stage survivors, it is difficult to accept their condition and seeing their family and loved ones shattered makes them feel like a burden.
Dealing with Depression
Professional Support-Our society still has a lot of stigma left for mental health disorders, even for disorders as common as depression. The effort for a person to deal with their mental illness must not be determined by what people say. If people feel that they need professional support, a counseling or clinical psychologist can be supported. Therapy is one of the best interventions for depression as well as other concerns of mental illness.
Social-emotional support:
Depression is an illness where a person might feel dissociated from himself as well as their loved ones. In such times, it is much more important to recognize a circle of people who are available in times of need to listen to you. Suicidal symptoms are part of severe depression, having a listening ear in times of crisis can save lives!
Lifestyle:
Though a habit does not define the condition of depression, it is the little things that give people direction. Along with avoidance of alcohol or tobacco in any form, a healthy diet is likewise essential. Appetite is highly affected by depression, most people tend to lose their appetite while some develop a habit of eating too much. Junk food often becomes a way to cope with depression, but its damage is not foreseen. Food with high saturated fats, caffeine and sugar can worsen the already disturbed hormonal mechanism of the body. Having a routine motivates to stand up even in an intense low mood. Many people who have dealt with depression have recognized the importance of working out.
At its crux, depression is a mental disorder that still gets stigmatized even though its prevalence in our society is quite high. Especially for cancer patients, mental well-being must be ensured with physical health.
References+
- https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/news/manisha-koirala-reveals-suffering-from-depression-during-heeramandis-shoot-impacted-by-cancer-i-know-1304042
- Smith HR. Depression in cancer patients: Pathogenesis, implications and treatment (Review). Oncol Lett. 2015 Apr;9(4):1509-1514. doi: 10.3892/ol.2015.2944. Epub 2015 Feb 9. PMID: 25788991; PMCID: PMC4356432.
- https://www.mskcc.org/experience/hear-from-patients/how-film-star-got-second-act-after-advanced-ovarian-cancer-manisha-s
