THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:LiveJam Foundation, a Delhi-based NGO with a focus on youth related issues such as drugs, depression, sexual abuse, is running a campaign in Thiruvananthapuram to raise awareness among the youth. The campaign titled ‘Kill It campaign’ has been done as a precursor to the upcoming World Mental Health Day on October 10 and has been themed on ‘Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World’. The campaign received substantial support from well-known people including Job Kurien, singer and music composer, Rahul Easwar, author and activist, Dhanya Sanal, spokesperson,Ministry of Defense,Tiffany Brar, founder of Jyothirgamaya and Reshma Thomas, artist and activist.
The campaign encompasses an interactive session between the audience and sharing their personal experiences regarding depression and suicidal tendencies. “My childhood was a mess after my parent’s death. I was left alone, sad and depressed. I tried to commit suicide by taking pills”, said Dhanya Sanal, spokesperson,Ministry of Defence in Thiruvananthapuram. “When you understand the purpose of your life you’ll never try to commit suicide. Whatever the life threatening element is in your life, you need to just cut it off and then seek medical help,” she added.
Kill It campaign focus on spreading awareness among youth about the value of their life and how to tackle with pain and grief .Rahul Easwar spoke about the statistics of suicidal deaths in Kerala. Kerala is the top in suicides,depression, alcoholism, drug abuse and issues related to family collapse. According to a Harvard University survey conducted in 2016 among 89,000 people, on suicides and depression, the survey talks about the importance of having ‘good relationships’ in life to deal with depression and suicides. “It is very important to have a socio-spiritual base for balance and stability in life. If you work on existential intelligence, you’ll have more serenity and calmness in your life”, Rahul added.
According to Tiffany Brar, Founder of Jyothirgamaya, the stigma attached to people who are physically challenged needs to change. “My father is a Punjabi Army officer so it was never easy for me to live a life as a visually challenged person in an upper class family. But I fought for people like me and I had a purpose in my life”,Tiffany Brar added.
Reshma Thomas an artist and activist who fought actively for the LGTBT community through her paintings took the initiative to paint for the depressed.She also made it an interactive session and asked people to immediately draw different images on the painting, which symbolised anger, anxiety and depression tendencies.“After my parent’s divorce I was left alone depressed. I chose art-and it helped me become what I am today”, Reshma said.