Don't want depression to define me, become my identity: Shaheen Bhatt

Author Shaheen Bhatt says her battle with depression is a part of her story, not her entire life, which is why she was apprehensive about writing a book "I've Never Been (Un)Happier".

Shaheen was diagnosed with depression at eighteen, after five years of already living with it.

Her book is a tell-all which takes the readers through the author's personal pendulum of understanding and living with depression.

Shaheen says though her parents Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan and sister Alia Bhatt were extremely supportive, she was apprehensive about opening up about her illness.

"That's generally the apprehension I've had. My only fear is I don't want this as my identity, that 'she is the girl who talks about depression.' This is one part of my life, a part of my story, not the whole story.

"Otherwise, I didn't have any other apprehensions. I come from a privileged position, have a fantastic support system so for me it was easy to talk about," she told PTI.

The author recalled having a bad day and wanting to post something on Instagram. The only glitch was, all the pictures she was looking to post were happy ones.

"I realised why am I putting up a happy picture when I'm not feeling happy. That's why I wrote about it. The positive response I got was so overwhelming, it resonated with so many people. That one post turned into an article, then another and eventually a book."
"I think it's honest. I feel being honest and courageous are two different things. My parents are like that, they are very outspoken. For me, it wasn't ever about courage. I just felt good writing it, it was quite a liberating process."