PROJECT AAWAZ
As a global issue, mental health has gained widespread attention. While increased awareness is welcome, few of these perspectives come from people with lived experience of mental Illness. Instead, the voices of survivors are drowned in a cacophony of noise from advertisers, experts, and well-meaning allies.
Project Aawaz amplifies the voices of those living with mental illness, to provide an inclusive understanding from the voices that know it best. Our hope is to leverage this understanding for mental health literacy, mitigating stigma, and increased direction to reformative efforts in the mental health ecosystem.
I have learned in my own depression how big an emotion can be, how it can be more real than facts. And I have found that that has allowed me to experience positive emotions in a more focused way.
The opposite of depression is not happiness - but vitality. And these days my life is vital, even the days I am sad.