So there I was, sitting on the footpath crying my heart out, seeking attention, hoping that at least one soul will ask what’s wrong? No one. No one asked.

Most of the people I was surrounded with, they didn't know what to do, how to help. If anything they were making the situation worse by the modern version of good old advices which had their roots in stigma & soceity conditioning.

No one I knew, or had any clue about how to help me. "He just needs some time" they said. "Go join work, keep yourself busy, it'll make you stop thinking about what happened", they said. "There are people who lose family members, you've just been... well, dumped!'." Who are "they"? They're a few closest friends I've came across in Canada. I am thankful that I still had few a shoulders whenever I needed, but thanks to the stigma around mental health most good souls also don't really know how to help. I do want to acknowledge that, yes, there was one friend who suggested counselling. And that would be one of the reasons why after that I started focusing on mental health, how to deal with it, mostly on myself.

I heard about the South Asian Youth Mental Health(#SAYMH) Ambassadors Training retreat, I was excited to get an opportunity where I can learn how to better help others. Along with that I also learned how one thing leads to another like a snowball effect. How drug overdoes cases aren't just limited to homeless, which is a slightly ignorant view. It can also occur in homes, at parties -- bad batches of drugs. I gained new perspectives and information on sexual harassment, mental disorders, eating disorders, and a lot of other things which should be discussed and talked about more. Open discussions about such topics can decrease the number of victims and help those struggling now. A lot of people are still suffering just because of all the stigma around the various topics. It wasn't all textbook learning or at least the kind of learning we all dread. Open conversations about our experiences , stories, antakshari (Indian group karaoke) over bonfire, late night UNO games... just an awesome experience. Started missing the whole environment right after I reached home.