Baljit Pannu's story:

 

Hey Fam, I'm @balkvijay. I want to start with saying thank you to @themhspotlight for this opportunity. #mentalhealth is a topic that not many South Asian communities talk about and I want to help every community embrace and respect what people through.
Now I guess it's onto my story. I struggled with depression for quite a few years, starting at a young age but I never discussed it; I still have moments now when I have a breakdown or a panic attack. I honestly can't pin point the depression to one thing; it started off small, then BAM, I was at my worst. So many things were happening at once and I lost my smile, confidence and love for myself; it came to a point where I wasn't happy and started thinking of suicide. I found ways of hurting myself without people knowing and would start breaking down for the littlest things. Many friends didn't understand me, and unfortunately, a few started talking about me behind my back. I still remember when I first told my family. I called my parents, crying and they didn't know what to do. My mom got one of my uncles to call me and I just cried, and the next day my mom showed up at my place. Over the next few years it just got worse and worse, but eventually it did get better.
What helped me? Praying, my family, relatives and a few close friends. I eventually got back into my favourite activity, dancing for no reason lol. I started slowly working on myself and started talking about my experience. Once i began to embraced my past and learn from my experience, I learned to smile again and gained #selflove #selfbeauty and #selfconfidence
Now everyday I pray quietly to myself, and I always count my blessings; my amazing family, relatives and friends who will always be by my side when I need them.