Alia's sister Shaheen Bhatt opens up about battle with depression after Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade suicides

In the wake of the deaths of designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, Shaheen Bhatt — sister of Bollywood star Alia Bhatt — has penned an extremely thoughtful article revealing her own battle with depression.Writing for Vogue, Shaheen opens up about how she's struggled with the crippling illness since the age of 12 and has even contemplated suicide on more than one occasion. "I’ve experienced the sheer terror of contemplating a life filled with unrelenting anguish, and I’ve been consumed by the terrifying thought of having but a single means of escape from a bleak, unbearable future," she wrote.Addressing the recent celebrity suicides, Shaheen describes how Bourdain's death made her tear up and reminded her how it could have easily been her. "I love Bourdain, I’ve been a fan of his ever since I read Kitchen Confidential and I closely followed his shows No Reservations and Parts Unknown. I marvelled at his no-nonsense screen presence, his natural humour and his effortless ability to turn the foods he was eating into almost living, breathing characters...“A bad airport hamburger can send me into a spiral of depression that can last for days,” Anthony Bourdain confessed on a 2016 episode of Parts Unknown. “I feel kind of like a freak and I feel kind of isolated.” I remember watching that episode and thinking “Yes. Exactly.”[caption id="attachment_4516681" align="alignnone" width="825"]

Shaheen (L) and Alia Bhatt. Image via Twitter[/caption]Bourdain, 61, and Spade, 55, died three days apart and highlighted a troubling trend globally — an increasing number of suicides following battles with depression. Shaheen, citing WHO statistics, noted that approximately 800,000 people die due to suicide every year emphasising the importance of sharing one's experiences. It is important to understand the warning signs of those at risk, so that a crisis can be stopped from becoming a tragedy.Alia too shared her sister's article on Twitter.

Shaheen revealed last month that she will be writing a book describing her battle with depression.