The Big Depression

The gloomy days don’t help and the natural disasters and unnatural disasters (Beirut) make every day greyer and longer. Then there’s the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a cure for Covid or any end for this pandemic in site. Add to that the daily suicides, desperately sad photographs that make every newspapers front pages, gleefully plastered with depressing headlines, it’s hard!

It seems to take every ounce of joy that I’ve stored in reserve to give me the strength to wake up every day. With the Multiple sclerosis playing up thanks to stress , these last few weeks have been painful.

And so I’m going back to the basics – to relearn joy.

I used to hold a class called i-Be Your Own Hero. This was a self help class that motivated you to look for potential where you didn’t know opportunities existed. A friend reminded me about this last week and I’ve started all over again- to retrain myself to look for joy. This allows me to go back to being a kid and be bad for just a bit. It allows me to cut myself some slack and allows me to celebrate the smallest of joys.

In a world that has systematically been breaking and with news channels who are earning by spreading fear, hate and divisiveness; it’s going to take time to build ones self up to see the colours in the sky- without Insta filters.

Michelle Obama has talked about depression.Others have too. Help lines are being overrun with calls.And yet they reach barely a fraction of society.

Now’s the time. Now’s the time to know you are not alone. Now’s the time to be happy- even if you’re not, even if you’re sick (like me), and tired and are low…we’re going to have to look for our own joy.

In this week I’ve found joy from Magic (my mini me), laughing at an impromptu standup that a friend did (thank you Amar!) , writing a new script and by playing Mono deal

P.s.-: Happiness is a choice we need to make. When all else goes against us, we need to make our own happy.