School students, you are not alone…Deepika Padukone

With an aim to raise awareness of mental health in India, the Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF), has announced
the launch of ‘You Are Not Alone’. This programme is focused on educating high school students and teachers on stress, anxiety and depression, and also aims to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental health. The Live Love Laugh Foundation was founded by actor Deepika Padukone in June 2015.

The programme commences on Wednesday (March 23, 2016) with two to three sessions for students and teachers to be held at Sophia’s High School in Bangalore, which happens to Padukone’s alma mater. The foundation expects to cover 500 other schools around the country this year.

“We believe that schools can be the first line of defence for emotional and mental health disorders faced by our youth and we look forward to working closely with school management’s to enhance mental health awareness in these institutions. The launch of ‘You Are Not Alone’ programme is our attempt to equip school students and teachers to deal with mental health challenges,” said Padukone.

The program will include a session for students, which involves talking to students about depression to build their understanding of how such disorders could affect them or their peers, and to facilitate effective self-help and increase their sensitivity towards supporting their friends and family. The idea is to encourage them to speak about this openly and seek help if they are affected by anxiety and depression.

The session for teachers entails sensitising teachers and school authorities to the various signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety, so they are able to support or seek the requisite professional help for vulnerable students.

The foundation is also inviting applications from other schools around the country to register themselves for this free programme which will be conducted by the foundation’s staff and partner organisations.

Date: Mar 27 2016

Source: HT