Guest Lecture on "Coloring the way out of Depression"

The Department of Psychology, IIS (Deemed to be) University, organized a Guest Lecture on the topic ‘Coloring the way out of Depression’ on 20 April, 2022. The speaker of the seminar was Ms. Shear Hashmi.

Seher Hashmi is a fashion stylist by profession. She is also a painter despite not having any formal training in art. With determination to fight depression, assisted by psychiatrists, counselors and her family, painting became a serious engagement for her. She has been dealing with mental health issues for over 15 years and having overcome a major part of the problem she has started speaking about the ailment to remove the taboo around mental illness. 

Ms. Seher Hashmi shared her inspiring journey through Depression. She shared that at an early age, she was diagnosed with clinical depression. She dropped out of college not once, but twice, and retreated into a shell. She talked about her symptoms: she felt less energy, disinterest in daily activities and inability to feel emotions. In time, with medicine, counseling and personal effort, she turned the corner. Despite having no formal training, Seher found painting the perfect antidote to her troubles. She also found the confidence to put her paintings up for exhibition at the Cafe de Art in Connaught Place in Delhi. More importantly, she was also prepared to open up on her long struggle to overcome the depressive phases.

“I realize it is important to talk about my illness because I was lucky to find such supportive parents, a great doctor, counselor, friends, and family. A lot of parents cannot understand what is happening to their children. Many patients also do not understand the need to continue taking medicines. I am available to talk to all such people because I have gone through these same experiences,” says Seher.

From coping with breakdowns to breaking out successfully, Seher’s is an inspiring story of our times.