‘There is greater acceptance and acknowledgement of mental health’: Anisha Padukone | Life-style News
Anisha Padukone has been keeping herself busy, just like her elder sister Deepika Padukone. But what sets Anisha apart is her work in the mental health sphere, especially for women, a job that aligns with the sisters’ LiveLoveLaugh (LLL) Foundation’s principles.
While on the work front, Anisha, a former competitive golfer, has been at the forefront of the Foundation’s rural initiatives, on the personal front, she has been trying to live a healthy life. “Scaling our rural programme, exploring new programme interventions that align with the Foundation’s strengths, and building and nurturing a strong team have been on the cards. Outside of work, I have been trying to regain a strong focus on my overall well-being. During the holiday season, one tends to be irregular with routines. Therefore, I have been trying to ensure that I get adequate sleep, eat healthy food, and exercise regularly,” said Anisha.
In a conversation with indianexpress.com ahead of International Women’s Day, Anisha speaks about her journey, the need to highlight mental health, her top learnings and priorities, and more.
Excerpts:
Q: How relevant is it to speak about mental health, especially for women?
Anisha Padukone: It is extremely relevant and important for everyone, including women, to speak about mental health. The challenges that women face are unique and can take a toll on their mental health. From being able to juggle multiple responsibilities at home along with a career, to hormonal changes in the body pre and post-partum, it can all get very overwhelming. Often, women tend to neglect their mental health because of all the responsibilities and lack of time. However, speaking or sharing about the way you feel with a loved one, friend, or professional can reduce the burden.
Q: You were a competitive golfer in 2015 when the LLL Foundation was launched. So, how did your transition happen from golf to working as a volunteer?
Anisha Padukone: I wanted to be able to contribute to the cause of mental health and also learn new skills along the way. Within the first few days of volunteering my time, I realised the magnitude of work that needed to be done and the potential that LiveLoveLaugh possessed to make an impact. Over some time, I started to enjoy and value the work that I was doing and therefore decided to quit my competitive golfing career to be able to fully commit myself to mental health. I have now been with the Foundation for close to eight years.
Initially, when I joined LLL, the organisation was very young. The focus at that point was to raise funds at a time when mental health was not a priority area for most, identify the right programme interventions and begin pilot interventions, ensure that the right organisational systems are put in place, expand the Board of Trustees etc. Through Covid-19, we faced the same challenges that most other organisations faced. Funding became scarce and therefore we had to pivot our existing initiatives to become more cost-efficient but at the same time scale certain offerings because of the mental health support that people needed and support grassroots-level partners to adopt technology.
Over the last couple of years, there has been an increased focus on strategy. Concentrating on the programmes that have worked well and scaling them, fundraising, initiating partnerships and collaborations, and identifying and working on policy-level interventions have now become an integral part of my role at LLL.
Q: What are some of your top learnings when it comes to looking at practical issues in the mental health sphere in India?
Anisha Padukone: About a decade ago, the challenges linked to mental health required a large focus on awareness and destigmatisation of mental illness. While that may still be the case, there needs to be an equal and important focus on expanding the base of mental health professionals, creating access to quality care, and ensuring the affordability of these services. Although India is still at a very nascent stage when it comes to mental health, there has been progress in the past decade. There is greater acceptance and acknowledgement of mental health. Help-seeking behaviour has also increased in the past few years. We need to continue to build momentum and collaboratively and collectively focus on building the mental health ecosystem.
Q: Would you like to share your journey and learnings as a caregiver for your sister?
Anisha Padukone: I always felt that I had an adequate understanding of mental health until I became a caregiver. My lack of awareness on the topic made me feel helpless. It wasn’t until mental health professionals guided me about what to do and I started to read up on the topic that I was able to be truly helpful.
Everyone can have different experiences but from my experience as a caregiver, I learned that being empathic, understanding and patient was very helpful. Creating a safe space so that feelings can be shared without judgement is also crucial. Most importantly, taking care of your own well-being as a caregiver is as critical as being supportive of a person with mental illness. This is something that I try to take care of regularly.
Q: What are your thoughts on International Women’s Day 2024?
Anisha Padukone: International Women’s Day marks an important day to celebrate the achievements, fortitude, and resilience of women across the globe. I would like to wish all the women readers a very Happy Women’s Day.
Q: What’s next for you?
Anisha Padukone: My priority will be to continue contributing to the impact made by LLL on mental health. Doubling down on our programmes, looking at newer areas, and supporting policies to help more people. I also want to make sure that I continue to focus on my own overall well-being.
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