We need to have conversations about mental health: Kubbra Sait

Actor Kubbra Sait became a “first responder” by participating in a workshop, where she discussed data, went through case studies and worked on language to use while talking to people who reach out for help

Actor Kubbra Sait becomes a “first responder” by participating in a workshop organised by Safe Space. It is a training and education centre for mental health and suicide prevention and also run centres across the country. “Sushant Singh Rajput’s death shook us all and I was anyway shaken after Kushal Punjabi’s death in December. I was very annoyed and felt cheated as a human being, because after so many people posted that they wish ek baar baat kar liya hota. Last week, I saw documentaries of people who died by suicide and some others about basic psychology of people and then I heard of this workshop. What motivated me to take it up was to understand many things,” says the Sacred Games actor.

Kubbra such a workshop is valuable for everyone in today’s world and should be encouraged just like classes on self defence and CPR.

In a three-hour workshop that “went on for six hours”, Sait learnt about data, discussed case studies and worked on language one should use while talking to people, who reach out for help. “Saying ‘Bro, baat kar li hoti’ isn’t enough and doesn’t help. During everyday lives, often people don’t have time to listen to others, and then to expect people who are already struggling and holding on, to convey their thoughts. The point is that have I made myself worth being spoken to? Would I know what to say or do if someone said they want to jump off a building? Would I be able to handle people when they say they are having suicidal thoughts? So, I felt the need to learn about being sensitive and being responsible to be able to help others,” she says emphatically, adding when she made a list of people she could speak to, “it was not a convincing list”. “That’s when I realised that I need to learn to be a person that someone can trust to be there for them and to conduct myself with sensitivity and responsibility. I decided that if I need to learn to help others, I should first help myself,” says Sait.

She feels such a workshop is valuable for everyone in today’s world and should be encouraged just like classes on self defence and CPR.