Dark shadow of the limelight

Does being in the limelight take more toll on one's mental health?

The world we live in can be best defined as a dog-eat-dog world. We all are in the rat race, running towards an end goal we may not even be sure of. No wonder mental health issues like depression, anxiety and substance abuse are currently on the rise. According to some studies, by the year 2030, it is projected that mental health problems will be the leading cause of morbidity globally.

The most common myth that is prevalent about mental health is that these disorders affect only a certain stratum of society. The truth is quite the contrary. Mental health disorders can affect anyone. Literally anyone.

Recently, Meghan Markle came out to speak about her struggle with depression and suicidal ideations. The interview sparked a set of controversy that how can someone who seems to be having it all, smiling for the tabloids, married to the love of her life, a part of the royal family and an established actress, ever be battling depression? Upon Sushant Singh Rajput's sad demise, a similar trend followed where his fans posted recent pictures of him smiling for the paparazzi and questioned how he could ever be depressed?

Smiles can lie because we all wear a mask for the outer world. But the turmoil in our inner world can only be exposed to a significant few in our close circles. In fact, some go on to suffer quietly. Being famous often leaves individuals feeling lonely even in the largest of the crowds.

Does being rich, famous, well established and in the limelight automatically protect you from having mental health disorders? History has shown quite the contrary.

Famous individuals who have battled mental health disorders like depression, often at the peak of their career, ranging from Deepika Padukone to Virat Kohli. Even celebrities like Serena Williams have come about to speak openly about postnatal depression, while Demi Lovato has spoken openly about issues like bipolar disorder and body image. Olympics winner Michael Phelps has been working on spreading awareness about ADHD. Also, let us not forget that we have even lost a few famous gems to death by suicide like Robin Williams, Sir Anthony Bourdain and Avicii. The common thread between them, other than being famous, was that they were all humans with real emotions, expectations and were perhaps facing mental health disorders.

The saying by Jim Carrey rightly sums up that fame and fortune cannot make you happy automatically. He said, "I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer." Fame and fortune cannot give you everlasting happiness. Your source of happiness needs to be more internal than merely external. To build upon happiness, we all need to keep working on small habits that make us happy, irrespective of how rich, famous, or well settled we are in life.

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