Gauri Shinde and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana to be a part of Mind Your Mind, a panel discussion on children’s mental health.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on all of us. And reports suggest that mental health cases have shot up drastically during this period particularly among teenagers and young adults for reasons such as remote digital study, the indefinite closure of schools, restrictions on outdoor activities and sports and relationship issues with parents or at home. To address this grave issue, it will discuss how one can approach and address mental health issues that children may face and normalize conversations about the topic.
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Among child psychiatrists and school principles, the panel will include writer-director Gauri Shinde and author-filmmaker Tahira Kashyap Khurrana. Mother to two, Tahira has been making the most use of the lockdown by spending some quality time with them and engaging in painting sessions with them.
Tahira, who took to social media, to talk about the story of battling breast cancer will be talking at length about breaking the news to her children and explaining to them about the challenges she experienced while dealing with her health. She will also be shedding light on the importance of parents creating a safe space at home for their children to express themselves openly and how imperative it is for grownups to be there for children.
Gauri earned raving reviews for Dear Zindagi, a film themed on mental health. As part of the discussion, she will be talking about the idea behind making the film and the response that she received after its release. She will also be expressing her opinion on the difficulty of affording therapy and how films and social media today have shaped our perception about mental health.
Looking forward to being a part of the panel, Tahira says, “Mind Your Mind is a rather important forum to address the issue of children’s and teenager’s mental health. Unfortunately, mental health is something that is considered a taboo and conveniently brushed under the carpet. Somehow, nobody wants to believe that even our children can go through depression and anxiety. I believe that it is significant to create an open discussion on mental health especially since the cases have shot up by a huge margin during the lockdown. I am honoured to have been invited to be a part of the panel.”