Malick Asghar Hashmi/New Delhi

In our society, words like depression, anxiety, or personality disorder are either made fun of or bring shame. In India, people still hesitate to discuss about mental health issues.

29-year-old Sahar Hashmi, a fashion stylist, not only overcame her mental illness but also became a beacon of hope for others suffering in silence in Delhi.

Once, Sahar Hashmi struggled with clinical depression and borderline personality disorder. While going through the treatment, she felt very lonely, helpless, and isolated. Her struggle inspired her to work on mental health.

Sahar Hashmi with her team

"I have resolved that no other person must go through that loneliness. This realisation came when I thought that if only someone had discussed my mental issues openly, perhaps I would have recovered quickly. "

On April 20, Sahar set out from Delhi to Kashmir on a Royal Enfield bike with social activist Dev Desai. Singer and activist Nazneen Sheikh from Maharashtra, filmmaker Samanyu Shukla from Madhya Pradesh, and medical graduate Mehrajuddin Bhat from Kashmir joined her later.

Samanyu and Mehraj documented the journey with their cameras. The documentary helped them carry Sahar's story and message to many people.

In her 20-day journey, she conducted more than 30 interactive workshops in 21 cities, including Anantnag, Baramulla, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jalandhar, Jammu, Kangra, Kupwara, Ludhiana, Mukerian, Rohtak, Srinagar, Sopore, and Pattan.

She interacted with more than 3,500 youth, students, villagers, and mental health experts. Sahar not only shared her experiences but also encouraged the participants to speak up.

The workshops were designed as an interactive platform where Sahar shared her story. After this, the participants felt encouraged to share their stories. This served the purpose of making people delink shame from mental illness, and seeking help is not a weakness.

The journey was not without its challenges. On April 20, the highway was closed due to a landslide in the Ramban district. On April 22, there was a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and on May 2, the highway was once again blocked due to a landslide.

However, these challenges did not discourage Sahar's team. She and her team completed their journey through Rajouri, Shopian, and Pir Panjal Pass.

Sahar Hashmi with her pet

This campaign also received a tremendous response on social media. Thousands of people praised Sahar's initiative and called her journey a movement. One user wrote, "It is an act of courage to share your personal suffering so publicly." While another user said, "There is a clear difference between Sahar before and after the journey. She has spread a new light."

Thousands of people praised Sahar's initiative and called her journey a movement.

Sahar's campaign was also recognised by the International Book of Records, and she was awarded the record title for "organising the most seminars on mental health."An analysis by Prof. Surjit Dabas, a retired scientist of CSIR-NIScPR, revealed that out of the 3,500 people who attended the workshops, about 42.30 per cent were those who had a close one suffering from mental illness.

Sahar and Dev's activism took off during the COVID lockdown period. They formed a 90-member team of psychiatrists, counsellors, and therapists who provided free online counselling. This network today has 140 professionals.

So far, the team has been able to help more than 300 people.Today, Sahar is not just a fashion stylist and motivational speaker, but also a pioneer in generating awareness on mental health. She wants courses on mental health to be included in schools and colleges, and youth should be trained as "Mental Health First Aid". She believes that if we remain silent on mental health issues, this silence will slowly eat away at society from within.

Sahar’s journey has a deeper message — that if the intention is strong, even personal suffering can become a force for social change. ‘Kalank Todna: Ek Meal Ek Baar’ (Break the taboo: One mile at a time) was not just a campaign, but a symbol of empowerment of millions who could not speak about what they were going through..

READ MORE: Shiraz Khan’s ‘Yes We Can’ empowers the voiceless

Sahar, Dev and the team have shown that a wave of change can be brought around mental health in India’s villages and towns – all it takes is a voice that says: “You are not alone.”