Raashi Thakran, an engineer by profession, socialist and mental health advocate by passion, has lived a one of a kind life, filled with ups and downs but its true when they say, ‘life is 10% of what happens and 90% of how you react to it’.
On 6th January, 2019, the young Indians younger brother, Raghav died by suicide at the mere age of 18. She recalls that fateful day as the worst nightmare of her life. What was even more upsetting to Rashi was that she never saw it coming, in fact, half an hour before he was gone forever, they were laughing out loud and cracking jokes.
The young Indian’s nightmare turned worse as time passed by. Although her brother left her, what stayed for a long time was the guilt of not being able to do anything, the guilt of not recognizing it sooner, the guilt of not being able to save him. From sleepless nights to anxiety and panic attacks, she was drowning in her own pool of tears.
Raashi soon knew she wasn’t mentally healthy anymore and had to do something about it and so, she mustered up the courage of breaking stereotypes and decided to seek help. Her parents took her to a doctor that diagnosed her with anxiety, PTSD and insomnia whilst encouraging her to seek therapy and talk to her parents. She soon realized this wasn’t a, one-man battle. It was the most traumatic experience for her family as a whole and not just herself. The young Indian recalls the one tool in the book that helped her cope most was talking about it, not only to her parents but she also recalls opening up and talking about her journey on the internet.
Whatever one may say about the internet, it surely camouflaged into a coping mechanism for Raashi that ultimately made her mentally healthy. Soon, from resorting to the internet to helping herself, she began sharing her story with the hope of helping others.
“I constantly feel closer to my brother when I’m talking about mental health”, says Raashi.
On concluding her talk at IIT Delhi, while waiting for an auto, a women went up to Raashi and broke down, opening up about her suicidal thoughts and depression and thanked Rashi for sharing her story and giving her the power to seek professional help.
Isn’t it true when they say, ‘You add value to your life by adding value to others lives’?
“I think that’s how you heal, in finding someone facing something similar and knowing you’re not alone”, says Raashi and this is her journey of how she coped with the loss of her best friend and brother, Raghav.
