20/10/2025
Hi. I’m Anandita Swarna, Junior Executive of ‘Rebegin’, A platform which works to spark new
beginnings, where it seems unfeasible. I completed my HSC in 2023, currently in gap year, and
preparing to pursue my bachelors abroad but in the end I’m ‘Happy’. Why? Let’s unravel that
now.
About Me
I grew up in a typical south Asian family like any other Bangladeshi student within my parents'
care. Yet, in some way, my psychological wounds overpowered my parents' care. Anxiety,
Depression, ADHD, OCD, Insecurities, Self pity overshadowed the golden moments of my
childhood so much so that at some point I wished to have a memory loss just to forget some
bad memories. However, I was lucky enough to figure out my inner voice who told me to wake
up and open the eyes of my heart. That’s how I became today's me. Still shaking yet confident
and always showing up in the face of challenges with a brave smile, which helped me to find out
multiple versions that were concealed within me for an elongated period. From learning graphics
designing and writing books to working with organizations and leading abused animal rescue
operations, I showed up with a clear mind as it was not filled with self-disdain anymore.
The Unspoken Stigma Within Us
In the aspect of Bangladesh, when we talk about ‘Mental Health’, the question that arises first
is, do we really know what Mental Health is? Mental Health is not anything different from
physical health, rather this is more prone to damage, affecting our physical health directly.
‘Mental Health’ is a state of well-being that influences how you think, feel and act. It includes
your emotional, psychological, and social well-being, affecting how you handle stress, relate to
others, and make choices. Good mental health enables you to cope with life’s normal stresses,
be productive, and contribute to your community. With that, maintaining a good mental health
makes a healthy community overall. But unfortunately our community is still unacquainted about
this topic. Whenever someone’s talking about this, they are either misunderstood as unstable or
never heard properly. That’s how the stigma around mental health is building up.
Let’s Put Bandage On Our Unhealed Wounds
While physical wounds are visible and can often be treated with a clear timeframe, mental
wounds are invisible, harder to identify, and can be complex to heal. Both require a process of
acknowledging the injury, and both can be treated through a combination of self-care and
professional help, but mental wounds often require a more prolonged and deliberate effort,
involving confronting emotions, seeking support, and practicing acceptance. Thousands of
Bangladeshi students are now facing psychological issues due to academic pressure, unhealthy
expectations, constant scrutiny even from closed ones which leave them helpless with nothing
but the option to take their own life.
Even by some simple words we can end up giving someone a traumatic experience. Thousands
of people in our society are living while carrying these wounds without even knowing, which
ends up passing a generational trauma. We get insecure seeing someone thrive and end up
causing cyber bullying, but can we not show little empathy to create a harmonious society?
Caring first can be the biggest solution to these problems, and finally we’ll be able to save
thousands of lives.
New Hope
From the National Mental Health Survey 2018-2019:
● Adults(18-99 years): 18.7% have mental disorder
● Children(ages 7-17): 12.6% have mental disorder
These percentages may seem little but let’s not give it a chance to increase as the day passes.
We need to educate ourselves that mental health is as important as physical health, and
speaking up about our problems can be the key thing to save us. Let’s ask for help when we
really need it, and let’s listen when our friends are in pain. Just by listening for a little bit you can ReBegin someone's life with hope!
