Mitali Bhasin from Lucknow is a girl with a remarkable story. Her journey fighting against depression and anxiety is astounding.  Around a year ago she was noticed in Bangalore, India when she performed a poem titled ‘3 am’ that personified her depression and helped her cope.

She used her poetry as a form of self-therapy.

“This poem became a part of my healing process as I personified my loneliness and anxiety.”

Mitali wrote this primarily for herself but it resonated with so many survivors that it became a force to be reckoned with. She openly talks about her experience and this has engaged a lot of people in the discourse on the issue of mental health in connection to sexual abuse.

Her poem also has hidden implications surrounding sexual abuse and assault that became a part of the #MeToo campaign and encouraged a lot more people to speak out about their issues and experiences. Mitali has become a symbol through her work and poetry for anyone with a story that is similar.

Mitali started working at the very young age of 15 and has achieved feats unimaginable to the average young adult since.  She initiated a sustainability project in India and soon after was chosen as the Global Youth Ambassador. She also became a Youth Advocate for the UN Women Campaign, HeforShe with YLC.  She continued working for social justice and other causes she cared about even on her own.

“I kept running individual cause-based initiatives and aided multiple organizations.”

She was one of the co-founders of the organization credited with the initiation of spoken word poetry in Lucknow.  Alongside she had been writing her own poetry and soon started performing it. She now works at ‘Terribly Tiny Tales’ and continues to be an amazing source of inspiration!

Here is Mitali’s performance of ‘3 am’!

cover image via Mitali Bhasin