- By Shabnam Mahmood & Manish Pandey
- BBC Asia Network
“Of course I have bad days, but now I can handle things in a healthier way.”
Talking about mental health struggles can be difficult, especially in South Asian communities, much less trying to write a play about it.
But that’s what 17-year-old Siyani Sheth did.
“It was especially strange considering so many people saw and heard it,” she told the BBC Asia Network.
“My whole life will be exposed like that.
“It’s scary, but it’s really nice to write it all down and be like, ‘I’ve been through a lot and come out of the other side.'”
Mental health is often considered a taboo subject in South Asian communities.
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Siyani’s plays are based on her own mental health issues, with themes such as depression, anxiety and self-harm.
Her problems, she says, started when she was 14 when she had trouble eating and passed out during a school trip.
But Shiyani refused to tell anyone what happened.
“I have a very stiff upper lip,” she says.
“And I think there is another pressure on the South Asian community, because there are just too many things out there.” [of it] To be truly perfect and excellent.
“Sometimes it’s really hard to meet that.”
Shiyani does not act herself, but narrates the story, with the main character explaining her story to the therapist.
Shiyani was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and an eating disorder when she was 15.
She says she went to A&E for treatment and then to a clinic in Holland.
“It’s been really hard to accept, and I’ve found myself in a really dark place.
“It was really intense and confrontational, but I also found people who felt the same way.”
Shiyani said she is much better now and is focusing on raising awareness about mental health through the play and others.
And she doesn’t hesitate to tell her story.
“It’s so raw. I tried to keep it very real and show the harrowing side of mental illness that people don’t see very often,” she says.
And she’s less concerned about people who aren’t supportive, especially those within her own community.
“Rather than that, it’s important to tell the story.
“And if this song reaches one person who feels really alone, and then makes them feel a little less lonely, that’s what I want.”
Siyani’s play The Expulsion of Egshuransis runs in London from 29th to 31st August.
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