We should stop repeating the word ‘depression’ and start looking for solutions- Jahnavi Soni
Mental health has always been a crucial topic of discussion, but despite growing awareness, many people still hesitate to acknowledge their struggles. Paro Sang Dev actress Jahnavi Soni believes that when someone realizes their mental health isn’t in the right space, the focus should immediately shift to finding solutions rather than repeatedly talking about the problem.
She explains, “Mental health is a fundamental part of well-being. But my own point of view is that we should talk about mental health, but we should not talk about depression again and again. I mean, if a person is depressed and keeps saying again and again that ‘I am in depression,’ that will not bring any solution. It will only keep them in that same state of depression.”
Jahnavi believes that words hold immense power and can influence the energy around us. She adds, “We should talk about mental health, but I don’t like using the word ‘depression.’ Because if you keep saying ‘I am depressed,’ that also sends wrong vibrations and wrong frequency to your mental state. Instead of that, if you realize or come to know that yes, I am going through depression, then you should immediately look for a solution.”
The actress feels it’s important to engage in activities that uplift your mood and shift focus to the positives in life. She says she prefers not to dwell too much on her low moments. “The reason I don’t tell is not because it’s something bad or small or that I will feel small by saying it—not at all. It’s just that I don’t want to give too much attention to it. I only want to focus on things that lift my mental state higher.”
When Jahnavi feels low, she turns to gratitude as her remedy. “Whenever I’m feeling low, I close my eyes and start counting all those blessings that God has given me. Automatically, the frequency changes from low to high, and I start feeling better,” she shares. “I know that sometimes we all feel depressed, but it shouldn’t happen too often. It’s okay if once or twice a month you feel low about something; that’s normal. But if it happens more often, then we need to work on ourselves.”
For her, self-care and self-love are key to maintaining good mental health. “When you eat well, exercise, and dress nicely, you automatically start loving yourself. And obviously, that helps you come out of feeling low naturally,” she adds.
She believes that perspective plays a big role in emotional balance. “Sometimes, small things trigger you, and suddenly your mood drops, and you start feeling low. But I feel it’s not a bad day. I don’t call my entire day bad because of one small thing. I believe that every day is a good day, a very good day. One small incident can’t make the whole day bad.”
Jahnavi emphasizes building mental strength and resilience. “People should become mentally strong enough that no situation, whether small or big, can make them depressed. There are certain things in life that have no solution or can’t be explained or given advice about. But still, we all know that we have to move forward. We can’t stop there, holding onto one feeling. For that, we should do a little meditation and spend time with our close friends,” she says.
Talking about the role of family and togetherness, she highlights, “When family is with you, you feel good because everyone shares their journey and tries to understand each other, and that’s very important in society. In society, there are so many families who make you happy just by seeing them; they celebrate every little festival together, and that togetherness makes you feel good and safe.”
Recently, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi also emphasized the need to create spaces where mental health conversations become “mainstream.” Echoing his thought, Jahnavi says, “Even I want that my friends, if they ever feel like this, can easily share it with me, and I will try my best to help them come out of that feeling of depression. There are many ways—we can sing together, jam together, dance together, and come out of that state. And no matter what happens, even if you reach zero in life, if you have that inner spirit, you can rise again.”
