We need to remember that it is okay to not be okay sometimes: Ananya Birla - Hindustan Times
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We need to remember that it is okay to not be okay sometimes: Ananya Birla

ByNikita Deb
Aug 02, 2020 06:52 PM IST

The singer says that deteriorating mental health is a serious problem among several people in India, and more funds need to be allocated for the upliftment of the mental healthcare system.

Apart from being passionate about music, singer Ananya Birla also feels very deeply about a lot of societal issues. And with conversations surrounding mental health illnesses in India taking centre stage now, she feels that although the mental health care system in our country has come a long way, there is a lot more work yet to be done. “We have one of the highest rates of depression and suicide in the world, especially among young people. Because of the stigma that is engrained in our society about mental illness, people are terrified to reach out for help. Even if they overcome that, treatment is often too expensive, or just too difficult to get. There are less than two psychiatrists per 100,000 people in the country and they are seeing hundreds of patients every single day. One in five people are currently struggling with their mental health in India – a number that is only going to increase amidst the pandemic which has seen unprecedented joblessness and isolation. We need to drastically improve the mental health system in this country and make sure more money is being set aside for care,” says Birla.

Singer Ananya Birla recorded her latest song Let There Be Love in her home studio.
Singer Ananya Birla recorded her latest song Let There Be Love in her home studio.

 

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The singer says that even though we would like our social media profiles to tell a happy story all the time, it is not really possible to be ecstatic always. Hence, showing one’s “sadness should not be perceived as a sign of weakness”, she believes. “While I’m still trying to come to terms with this this myself, I know that it’s part of life. We all need to remember that it is okay to not be okay sometimes. There is no shame and it doesn’t reflect on your value as a person,” says the 26-year-old singer.

 

Amid the lockdown, Birla has managed to complete her new song Let There Be Love, which she recorded in her home studio. “I got to learn a lot about the production side of things because all of that was done remotely. So yeah there definitely were some challenges, but I learnt a lot, so it was worth it,” she says adding, “It is a really important song for me. This is my first release of the year. All my songs are about connecting with people, which has been so hard over the past few months. I want to use this song to remind people that beautiful things can blossom out of dark moments, and that whatever we are going through, we need to make sure that we make love and people a priority,” signs off Birla.

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