Where THE MIND IS WITHOUT Fear

Author and mental health advocate Shaheen Bhatt talks about embracing her vulnerabilities and learning to love herself again

- ANESHA GEORGE

“When things get hard, I remind myself that even the worst storms pass, and then I remind myself that I survived them all.” This is the last line of Shaheen Bhatt’s book, I’ve Never Been (Un)Happier (Penguin, 2019), and it’s the one mantra that keeps her going, she confesses. Recalling the lines make her tear up, but those are tears of pride, of knowing that she is a survivor. For 20 years, Bhatt has lived with the fear of heading into the dark spiral of depression. But now that she’s thwarted it with positive affirmations she’s truly started to love herself fearlessly.

ELLE: When did you understand the full potential of self–care?

Shaheen Bhatt: Not until about a year ago. I’ve been on this journey with mental health since I was 12, I’ve been in and out of therapy, but strangely, I’ve never thought myself worthy enough of self–care.

ELLE: So how did you become self-aware?