Dr.Shashi Tharoor

If someone has a broken leg, his visible pain provokes sympathy; if he has a broken mind, his invisible pain triggers incomprehension. Mental health remains an issue that is not only difficult to understand, but also comes with colossal stigma. If one has a mental disability one is often shunned and labeled as “mad”, “lunatic” or worse. If it is known that one has been to a psychiatrist, one is sometimes looked upon with fear or confusion. A mental health patient is painted with a brush of ignorance and treated with contempt, when in fact he or she needs medical assistance, help, and understanding. Mental illness is also a complicated disability to gauge, and people can, as far as appearances go, seem perfectly healthy and happy while confronting painful inner battles.

Dr.Shashi Tharoor
Member of Parliament, India
&Former UN Under-Secretary-General