‘Yes, I’m listening’ Mumbai

What happens when the people you love are the ones who reciprocate with hate? When you are told ‘honesty is the best policy’ but are banished by your loved ones when you embrace your truth? Well, some fight back by converting the negative energy into something positive and excel in everything they do, some get pushed into severe mental depression.

It should not come as a surprise that depression is way too common in the LGBTIQ community. LGBTIQ persons are constantly fighting non-acceptance and ridicule. To add to it all, social media is brutal and doesn’t spare anyone. Everyone wants to be a hero by scoring over another and this is usually done by ridiculing a person with a different point of view or someone who is simply different in more ways than one. Sometimes it is so brutal that people do the unthinkable and take their lives.

I attempted suicide almost two decades ago when I couldn’t deal with my life’s challenges. While I survived, my recovery was followed by never-ending verdicts from people around me. Some said how I was timid and would go to hell for attempting suicide. Others remarked about how I could have attempted suicide in a way that I died but I deliberately chose to keep it simple so that I could survive and get all the attention. On the other end of the spectrum were people who said I was brave and that attempting suicide was no mean feat.

As someone who has experienced suicidal tendencies, I would kindly request people to abstain from deifying or vilifying anyone who attempts suicide. They need unprejudiced listening and therapeutic counselling. The recently passed Mental Health Bill puts emphasis on not discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. However, given the overarching stigma that surrounds seeing a therapist, often, getting someone to the premises of a mental health professional is a skill in itself.

I still rely on you, dear readers, to build the pyramid of trust around the vulnerable. We don’t need specialists, but friends. Friends who can actively listen without prejudice and eventually take individuals in need to a counsellor. I have started ‘Yes, I’m Listening’ — a Facebook page — where people can write to us on our Facebook page ‘YesImListening’ or write to ‘yesimlisteningtoyou@gmail.com’. We — Shruta Neytra and myself — will listen and also connect you to a listener with your consent. And, if you are a listener, we wish to know you more. We will meet regularly and de-stress by listening to each other.

Atta changla Mumbaikar hoycha, ani je dukhi aahe, tyaachaa aikaacha.

(Activist Harish Iyer shares his entertaining adventures through Mumbai’s landscape)

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