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On the day that the new Mental Healthcare Bill was passed by the Indian Parliament, a woman spoke some intimate words on suicide (which has finally been decriminalised by the new law).

“You think once you’re gone, will they talk fondly of you?
Of how generous you were or how you had all the potential in the world…will they conclude it was love or money that killed you?”

Ishmeet Nagpal, a public health professional at an NGO, begins her poem, Before you commit suicide, in a quivering voice, describing the slippage of life from everyday activities.

She articulates the inability to feel emotions, good or bad – a sign of depression, which unfortunately isn’t often recognised as a mental illness that can be treated and controlled.

“And if one more person asks, “Are you okay?” You swear you won’t be.”

Admitting to suffering from depression isn’t easy, either. Some may feel shame in telling their friends about it.

Stand-up comedian Sahil Shah from East India Company feared worse. He wrote how he was afraid that people would laugh it off.

Depression affects millions of Indians each year, and many don’t know where to turn when it strikes. According to the World Health Organisation, mental disorder affects nearly one in 20 people across India.

Just a few days ago, a 23-year-old young man jumped off the 19th floor of Bandra hotel in Mumbai after a live video demonstration of how to commit suicide.

Stand-up comedians have urged people not to fear seeking help. Comic artist Tanmay Bhat, a regular Snapchat user, used the platform to point out how friends and family are one of the ways to face the situation.

"Apne problems ko apne dosto se milaiyye"

Mallika Dua, who had viewers in splits in The Viral Fever’s Girliyapa, explained how medication helps battle anxiety: “Treat it like a stomach ache. You would take a medicine for it right?”

Biswa Kalyan Rath, who became famous for Pretentious Movie Reviews on YouTube wrote about how he lost weight and fought depression for eight years but overcame it with help and support.

You just have to tell someone, says Nagpal.

“Hold on. ‘Cause someone, somewhere, feels the same truth.”