36% of Indian population is battling depression and the majority of depression patients fall in the age bracket of 6 to 25. That is 48,932,559 people in India alone according to a report by WHO. In a worldwide scenario, 300 Million people are suffering from depression. 42.5% of corporate employees suffer from depression in India and list of statistics goes on. There is no shortage of recorded data for an analysis of depression.

Depression is a silent epidemic that has spread throughout the world and yet there is so less education around the topic. Where coming out as depressed is seen as a stigma there are parts where coming out as depressed is also seen as a way of getting attention. Whatever it may be, depression is real and whether we believe it now or later. Depression has crippled the youth around the world.

But all is not lost.

A few years ago, it seemed totally impossible to get medical help in India. Times are changing very rapidly. We have never lived in a time where talking about depression was encouraged so often. Recently, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has decided to bring about a change in the MBBS curriculum. For the first time in 21 years, MBBS syllabus will include a course on mental health. This marks a milestone as these medical students will carry the torch further. A huge number of NGO’s have come forward providing help online and through phone conversation. Individuals, who have experienced depression firsthand or witnessed it in their loved ones are trying to help in all the ways possible. Social media now is paying greater attention to the people that use its platform. Instagram, for example, provides help if its algorithm detects search history or keywords related to Depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies. Oftentimes we hear that we need to initiate a discussion around depression. It is indeed essential. But that is only one side of the coin the other, is to reach out to the people suffering from depression and encouraging them to look at it as just a sickness, sickness that is commoner than any other yet resolvable with the right kind of help. This can only be done if the first circle of people who care for them are educated about depression.

What needs to be done.

Two words- Educate and help. Everyone, from school-going students to graduates and corporate employees need to be made aware of depression. Spreading awareness and education about depression can help us remove the stigma that entails it and can help equip people to fight and even overcome it in the early stages. Educating them will also encourage them to help the other people around them weathering a similar storm. Statistics say, one out of five people you know is suffering from depression. We need to spread the awareness to the first and the first primary level of social communication i.e. our home. Dealing with depression is a multi-faceted task. First, we need to spread awareness so that people don’t fall a victim to depression. Second, we need to provide help to people who are battling Depression. Depression can only be understood by people who have suffered from it. Sadly, these people never completely overcome their own depression to be able to come out and help others. This is a challenge we face – to equip these survivors of depression to come out and help others fight depression.

What we plan with this campaign in the future?

Our campaign on depression has come to an end. Does that mean Sowers will stop talking about depression? No, we have just begun. But to hold true to our mission statement we need to address many more social issues that are affecting the youth of our country and the world at large. We are humbled by the response we received during this campaign which only makes our understanding concrete that there is still so much to do and so many stones left unturned. Sowers has learned what Depression looks like from the eyes of those who are still at war within themselves on a daily basis. We have experienced first-hand the extent to which Depression has debilitated our teens. We have heard life stories that changed our perspectives. And we also had the joy of being reached out by many during the past two months, helping them had been a priority. Through phone and text conversation we believe we helped a few to see the silver lining. But this is just the first chapter of our mission. Sowers will continue to post content that would address Depression and mental health to help spread awareness and broaden the understanding of mental health. If you are fighting depression and need someone to talk, we welcome you to speak with us. We are just an email away.

To people out there who stand with us to fight depression, we welcome you to join us and together we can make it possible.