Amir Khan’s Daughter Ira Khan Shared her Video on Fighting Depression and Sexual Abuse

Clinical depression is a mental health disorder which means having depressed moods or loss of interest in activities causing significant remoteness from daily life. Depression, in general, is associated with a lot of stereotypes, because of which people do not come out to speak of it, which often leads to suicide. Studies have revealed that about 264 million people have gone through a depressive phase in life. It can affect both, a regular person or a person having certain privileges.

Recently, 23-year-old, Ira khan, who revealed about her battle with clinical depression on world mental health day, has now also revealed the sexual abuse she faced. She mentioned in her video that being a celebrity does not make the illness any less grave. People tend to not open up about depression or if they are facing any sexual assault because of fear of society. The same was revealed by Ira khan. She highlighted that her parents’ divorce and a traumatising sexual assault, in her teenage years made it difficult for her to open up. 

She said “I never spoke to anyone about anything because I assumed that my privilege meant I should handle my stuff on my own, or if there was something bigger, it would make people need a better answer than “I don’t know.” Many of her fans scrutinised her photos and videos where she was smiling ear to ear and having fun which is assumed to not be a sign of a depressed person, but this the biggest myth that surrounds this mental disorder.

Treating clinical depression is not as easy as it seems. Due to societal pressure, people often do not consult a therapist or fear that they would lose their social image if they do so. In Ira’s video, she mentioned” I feel a certain way, a certain not nice way, then how much can rationally be trying to explain these things to myself do? Shouldn’t I instead get up and try and fix things? And if I can’t do that for myself? Shouldn’t I ask for help?”. In her example, we can see that we should never walk away from talking about depression or any other mental disorder. Self-help is a treatment for it, but having a support network makes it easier for a person to cure it.

Footnote

While we are still creating awareness and opening up around mental health, though it’s easy to think that the stars have it all, depression and ill health do not have any barrier based on a person’s gender, privilege or their social status.