What do you do when you feel low? I asked this to a few of my close friends and acquaintances. The answers I got varied from, ‘I eat sugar,’ ‘go for a drink to a pub alone even if a friend is not available to give company,’ and ‘talk to a friend’.

All three actions help when you are low, as revealed by the respondents.

There is no method to overcome the feeling of being low. But one easy method is to talk frankly to somebody, preferably a friend. Talking gives you a new high; talking in time when feeling ‘low’ in life takes you higher. Hence, I often say, ‘everyone should have at least one trusted friend.’

Recently, two examples have been reported in the lay press. One is about Kapil Sharma, a famous Indian standup comedian on what he did when he was not just low but was going through depression. And the other is about Rohit Sharma, the Indian cricketer.

Talking gives you a new high; talking in time when feeling ‘low’ in life takes you higher.

Deepika Padukone, a leading Indian actress has been talking about depression for a while. In the past Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Sanjay Dutt (all Indian film actors) have all gone into depression in their lives. Some bounced back better than before, some bounce back reasonably well but some just couldn’t.

These few examples show that mental health issues can affect anyone and steps should be taken in time either by the person undergoing the ‘low’ or can be proactively taken by a well-meaning friend.

Delaying the talk with someone when feeling ‘low’ will push you faster and deeper into the blackhole of depression.

In case of Kapil Sharma, it was Shah Rukh Khan (SRK), a leading India film actor who came to his rescue. While in case of Rohit Sharma, it was Yuvraj Singh, a famed Indian cricketer.

Kapil Sharma had developed a dubious reputation of cancelling or delaying shoots. He was at that time fighting with alcoholism which contributed to his anxiety and depression. He once cancelled a shoot at the last moment with Shah Rukh Khan.

Kapil told in an interview for a popular talk show in AajTak, that 3-4 days after he had the shoot cancelled with SRK, they met in the same studio. Kapil says, SRK understood what was happening, so he called him to his car and sat with him for an hour. According to Kapil, SRK asked him if he took drugs, to which he replied no. But Kapil told SRK that ‘I no longer feel like working.’ Kapil further said that SRK told him ‘some very nice things and counselled me.’

And it worked. Kapil is back with a bang on TV. It shows how things can change for good when two people have a frank talk.

The best EAP (Employee Assistance Program) is not always a third-party counsellor but can be your best friend or even a trusted colleague. 

In case of Rohit Sharma, he felt depressed for about a month when he was unable to secure a spot despite past successes in 15-member Indian cricket team. Rohit Sharma recently told Jemimah Rodrigues, an Indian woman cricketer, of the time when he was dropped from the Indian team. He said he was depressed for a month. There was only one person, Yuvraj Singh, who came up to him, took him out for dinner and there was nobody else.

Jemimah also shared the invaluable advice that Rohit Sharma gave her, which ultimately led to her successful return to the Indian women’s team. The advice Rohit gave was, ‘tough times will happen but you know it is what you do next. Make sure when you get the next opportunity, you are ready for it. It happens or doesn’t happen, its fine.’

So, whenever you think you have mental health issues, just talk and chances are everything will be fine. The sooner you talk, the better and faster is the outcome. Else, sometimes, depression lingers on and can play havoc with life.

In my talks on depression, I emphasize on the importance of ‘having a talk’ whenever one feels ‘low’ for more than 2-3 days. Delaying the talk when feeling ‘low’ will push you faster and deeper into the blackhole of depression. Not having a talk with someone in time will prolong the misery of the mental health issues. 

In factories and offices which employ doctors (especially if they are qualified Occupational Health physicians), they should encourage the culture of having frank talks in case of mental health issues. The best EAP (Employee Assistance Program) is not always a third-party counsellor but can be your best friend or even a trusted colleague. 

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Dr Ajay Sati is an Occupational Health physician who prefers to describe himself as an Occupationist, to denote, ‘an expert in diseases and other concerns of occupations.’ Dr Sati has managed health and wellness programs in industries he worked, like the atomic energy, and energy (oil & gas) in India and overseas. An experienced virtual consultation expert he was involved in many greenfield and brownfield projects providing inputs from health point of view.