Adding another feather to her cap, actor Deepika Padukone on Monday (local time) received the Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos for spreading awareness about the importance of mental health.
Padukone in her speech, stressed at the importance of the needs of every individual and talked about her ‘love hate relationship’ with her illness and what it has taught her.
As #wef20 gets underway, @deepikapadukone stresses the importance of addressing mental health issues when building a more sustainable and inclusive world.@TLLLFoundation
Find out more: https://t.co/yja3lFKDLN #healthyfutures pic.twitter.com/7p0U3AoDpR
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 20, 2020
She received the award on the Martin Luther King Day and concluded her acceptance speech with the word of the civil rights activist.
“For in the words of Martin Luther King, everything that is done in this world is done with hope,” she said.
Padukone started voicing her opinion on the importance of mental health through her foundation The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF) in June 2015.
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Through the program, the actor launches nationwide awareness as well as destigmatisation campaigns. The foundation raises awareness about mental adolescent mental health disorders and organises training sessions, research and lecture series that feature some of the most known thinkers and achievers.
“Live Love and Laugh exemplify my personal philosophy to life. The foundation aims to provide hope to every person experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression,” the actor said.
Speaking about what she learned from her personal experiences of mental problems, she further said, “Mental illness has presented us all with a very tough challenge, but in my love-hate relationship with the illness has taught me much. To be patient for one, that you are not alone, but most importantly that there is hope.”
Padukone was last seen in biographical-drama ‘Chhapaak’ whcih was released on January 10 this year. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the movie is based on the real-life acid attack survivor Laxmi, who was attacked allegedly by a spurned lover in 2005 at the age of 15.