SHE tried hanging herself and slashing her wrists, and had even been locked up in an isolation cell in a psychiatric ward.
But Madam Gayathri Ramprasad (above), 46, is not only past all that, but has recast herself as an international advocate for mental health: She runs her own mental health consultancy in the United States and a non-profit organisation to promote mental health awareness and build communities of recovery.
In town for the Asia-Pacific Psychiatric Rehabilitation Conference, at the Institute of Mental Health last week, she shared her experiences at a talk and urged mental health care-givers to help 'light a candle' in the lives of their patients.
A strong believer in patients taking charge of their own afflictions, she also urged patients to light their own candle rather than curse the darkness.
After all, she knows a thing or two about that.
Born in Bangalore into a tight-knit family, she was barely 18 when she was seized by anxiety attacks and depression, which her family read as possession by evil spirits.
Over the next decade, she went through failed suicide attempts, numerous hospital visits and electric-shock treatments. Life was about being 'in a frozen state of fear', she said.
She lit that metaphorical candle while in a lock-up, promising herself that she would 'emerge a harbinger of hope' by helping other people in her shoes.
In the following years, she took 'one very painful step at a time' to recover and fit back into the community. She also earned an MBA along the way, after which she began her crusade to reach the mentally ill and dispel the stigma surrounding mental illness.
In 2005, she opened her own mental health consultancy in Oregon, in the US, where she has lived since her 20s; the following year, she set up the non-profit ASHA International, which promotes mental health awareness and builds communities of recovery.
ASHA International (which stands for A Source of Hope for All touched by mental illness) has since reached out to 25,000 lives worldwide in the last two years through talks, workshops and community programmes for patients, health-care providers and the public.
Madam Ramprasad also brought to her native India the Silver Ribbon movement, which raises public awareness of the need to support people with mental illness and disabilities.
She admits that she still gets bouts of depression, which she keeps in check with meditation, regular physical exercise, sufficient sleep and writing in her journal. She also credits the support given her by her engineer husband and two daughters.
'I've learnt how to ride the bicycle but it does not mean I'll never fall off!' she said, laughing.
aprilc@sph.com.sg
Build healthy minds
HERE are some tips from the Institute of Mental Health:
Parents should:
Be good role models.
Maintain interest in their children's lives.
Build up their children's problem-solving skills instead of doing everything for them.
Adults should:
Act with integrity and keep promises.
Listen actively and learn to give and take.
Talk issues through.
The elderly should:
Eat well and exercise.
Keep active and be involved with others.
This story was first published in The Straits Times on Oct 14, 2008.
