"I no longer view life casually": Shweta Kawaatra opens up on her battle with postpartum depression for five years

Shweta Kawaatra, who rose to popularity after playing pivotal roles in shows such as Ghar Ek Mandir, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kkusum and Ye Meri Life Hai has opened up about battling depression. Shweta calls herself a depression survivor, an experience that led her to explore mental health and work around it. She says, “Having experienced acute postpartum depression, I no longer view life as casually as I did before. Most tend to use the term ‘depression’ loosely. It is real. It’s a chemical change in our body and not just a low feeling or something that stems from boredom. If left untreated, it has long-drawn consequences. I suffered for five years. While I had my husband (actor Manav Gohil) and family’s support during this time, it was difficult for them to understand what I was going through. I wanted to lend a hand and an ear to others with the right tools, hence studying became the next organic step to understanding the disease.” She advises not to sweep mental health issues under the carpet. “Seek help. In my own capacity, I volunteer to address individual concerns. I listen to their struggles and help them get a perspective. If I notice red flags, I refer them to a psychologist or a psychiatrist.

The actress was recently in the news, after she called out a airlines  for rude behaviour, and misplaced luggage. In a video, Kawaatra said that it’s been seven days and they haven’t received their luggage yet. The actor said that their flight was cancelled during transit and the staff behaved rudely with her when she went to ask about the status of their flight. In the video, she said, “Alright, so we travelled Lufthansa from Mumbai, had a transit at Munich where our flights got cancelled. We got stuck there, stranded for over 26-30 hours with my child. Nobody was there to help us and they expected us to stand in a five to six km line full of people to ask any questions. If at all the staff was available at the first-class centre where I went, they drove me and my daughter out from that place. They were very very rude. They refused to even hear what I wanted to ask.”She further said, “It’s been harrowing. We spent our night at the airport. Then we were promised that our luggage is going to go with us on the next flight we take, which didn’t happen. It has been now seven days since we have been in New York and we haven’t received our luggage, four pieces of luggage. It’s really been crazy.” The actor captioned the video, “Disappointing experience with Lufthansa. Rude inconsiderate staff. 7 days and our bags still haven’t been found by @lufthansa . Hope we get our bags before we go back to India.” This is not the first time an actor has taken to social media to share their unpleasant experience with commercial airlines.