Sangeetha Param

My name is Sangeetha Param from Bangalore India. I am 24 years old. I am a survivor of depression. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder in November 2014 and have been battling it since then.

Going through physical emotional and mental abuse since childhood, became one of the reasons of my depression.

I want to talk about how I overcame this, how I am over coming this stigma. Depression is considered a stigma even today. I want to talk about it and show that it can be spoken about. I want to tell people that they can speak about it without being afraid of being judged by he society.

I am an author and poet. I have written 2 books ' Key to Acceptance' and ' Echoes in my attic ' related to my depression.

The young adults are the ones who are major victims of this epidemic me being one.

My father is a cancer survivor and at the age of 11 I saw the battle he faced with death. It made me change the whole perspective towards life.

Depression and cancer, two major epidemics of this age, both a stigma. Depression is the cancer in the mind which not many people accept.

Hence, as a survivor, a social activist, a poet and author I would like to speak out my struggles and my battle.

Also, I would like to emphasize on the stigma that people don't want to go to the psychiatrist and get treated as they would be termed as ' crazy'.

I would like to give a talk and share my survival story as a recipient of depression. I am no counselor or doctor, I want to share how depression is dealt by a patient.

I have also give a tedx talk. I will be giving another tedx talk.