“I feel pretty strongly about this word…this label: ‘crazy’…the way that it’s thrown around so casually and the damage it’s wrought on society and women everywhere—from relationships to families being shattered, reputations destroyed, and careers ruined. The stigma surrounding the word, it also has this silencing effect—this effect where women experiencing real mental health issues, they get scared, they stay quiet, they internalize and repress for far too long.” -Meghan Markle
In honor of World Mental Health Day, Meghan Markle hosted an episode called “Decoding The Crazy”. The podcast episode featured Deepika Padukone and Constance Wu. In the episode, the ladies shed light on their journeys battling depression and how their struggle was gaslighted using the labels of “crazy” or “insane”. Let’s take a look at some highlights from the interview.
Deepika Opens Up About Her Battle
Deepika Padukone spoke about her battle with depression in detail. The actress revealed that the symptoms of her depression came out of the blue, at a point when everything was going well both personally and professionally. She recalled waking up and falling ill, as her blood pressure dropped. According to Deepika, everything felt meaningless to her at that point, to the extent that she didn’t want to live anymore. “I struggled with this for many, many months. I would just break down at the drop of a hat,” revealed the actress.
The Women On Seeking Professional Help
During her conversation with Meghan Markle, Deepika Padukone delved deeper into seeking professional help, while fighting depression. According to her, it was when she started feeling empty, hollow, and hopeless, she decided to seek the help of a counselor within her family and friend circle. Deepika’s counselor understood her issues immediately after their first phone call and assured her that she is coming to meet the actress right away. It was her counselor who advised Deepika Padukone to seek professional help and consult a psychiatrist immediately.
The Duchess of Sussex then went on to tell her experience about seeking help. She revealed how when she was at her “worst point” psychologically, Harry found a way to help her. “I mean I think, at my worst point, being finally connected to someone that, you know, my husband had found a referral for me to call and I called this woman,” she said. “She didn’t know I was even calling her and she was checking out at the grocery store. I could hear the little beep, beep, and I was like, ‘Hi,’ I’m introducing myself and like I can literally hear her going, ‘Wait, sorry. I’m just…Who is this?’ And saying I need help. And she could hear the dire state that I was in.” She continued, “But I think it’s for all of us to be really honest about what it is that you need and to not be afraid to make peace with that, to ask for it.”
Meghan Markle On The Portrayal Of Women As Crazy
Meghan then went on about some sitcoms such as “How I Met Your Mother” and “Scrubs,” criticizing the shows for their representation of said “crazy” women.
“The use of these labels has been drilled into us from movies and TV, from friends and family, and even from random strangers,” she said. “The fact is, no one wants this label.”
In “How I Met Your Mother,” Markle observed how the character of Barney said: “If she’s this crazy, she has to be this hot.”
In “Scrubs,” she brought up how the character of Elliot who is a female doctor said “I can’t take it, Carla. I cannot hide the crazy a minute longer. I’m just this big mountain of coocoo is about to erupt and spew molten crazy, all over him and he’s gonna die like this.”
The Backlash
Interestingly, Deepika Padukone also revealed how people misunderstood her for opening up about her mental illness. According to the actress, many people thought that she opened up about her depression for the promotion of a film, or she is being paid by some pharmaceutical company. However, Deepika is happy that she could create a positive impact on a lot of people by opening up about her mental illness.
Deepika commented that now, after having been through this “life and death” situation, she believes that has a purpose that goes beyond her work and the money that comes with it. Deepika is also the founder of Live,Laugh,Love which advocates for mental health awareness.
During her conversation with Constance Wu, the actress once again shared the story of her suicide attempt in 2019 after she faced severe online trolling for expressing her emotions about the renewal of her show. Many people called her ungrateful. However, last month Wu revealed that she was a victim of sexual harassment and intimidation on set by one of the producers.
It’s fundamental to advocate for mental health and increase the availability of services for the ones battling with declining mental health in this day and age. We are glad to see celebrities opening up about their struggles and normalizing asking for help!
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