I started Let’s Live three years ago with a simple but urgent mission -to prevent youth suicides in Kerala and to create spaces where young people can speak openly about their struggles.
On September 10, 2020, World Suicide Prevention Day, I opened our Survivor Series 2020 with my own story.
I am a suicide survivor. I lost my father to suicide when I was six years old. Growing up, I experienced episodes of clinical depression and periods of suicidal ideation. Nearly a decade ago, I received a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder – a name that attempted to define what I was going through. Over time, that diagnosis was revisited, questioned, and even reconsidered, especially as I began living a productive and high-functioning life. But what remained constant was this: the journey of understanding my mental health.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is this – you are not your condition. A diagnosis is not an identity. It is a description of a phase, a pattern, or a set of symptoms. It does not define who you are. You are a human being moving through different seasons of life, and sometimes one of those seasons may be depression. But you are always more than a label.
Healing begins with awareness. Take responsibility for your thoughts, emotions, and responses. Learn to acknowledge what you feel without shame. Learn how to help yourself. Learn when to ask for help. Learn whom to ask for help.
Break-ups hurt. Rejections hurt. Failures hurt. Pain can feel unbearable. Yet pain is also one of life’s greatest teachers. With time, patience, and reflection, it can bring clarity, resilience, and deeper self-understanding. Not immediately. Not easily. But eventually. Sometimes survival simply means holding on long enough for things to make sense.
With self-love, compassion, and kindness toward yourself, it is possible to manage your mental health. It’s okay not to be okay -as long as you are willing to find your way back, one step at a time.
Through the Survivor Series 2020, we share 30 stories of survival from September 10,2020 to October 10 , 2020 – voices from across India speaking about struggle, recovery, and resilience. Our hope was simple: that every story would remind someone that they are not alone.
If even one person finds hope in these stories, then the purpose is fulfilled.
With hope and solidarity,
Sherin Noordheen
Founder-Director, Let’s Live
