Farzana’s Silent Struggle: Mental Health and the Unseen Burden

Farzana is a fruit seller in Islamabad, her life defined by the daily struggle to earn enough to make ends meet. Each morning, before the city fully awakens, she sets up her small cart filled with seasonal fruits, hoping that the day's sales will be enough to feed her children. Her hands, roughened by years of labor, deftly arrange apples, bananas, and oranges to attract customers. While her stall may appear colorful and vibrant, the reality of her life is filled with challenges and silent battles.

When we asked Farzana about how she copes with stress, she gave a weary smile. "I have no time to think about myself," she admitted. The pressure of providing for her family, especially as a widow, has left her little room to acknowledge her own mental well-being. Every day is a fight to ensure that her children have enough to eat and that she can keep up with rising expenses. For her, feelings of exhaustion, anxiety, and despair are just part of life—things that cannot be addressed because there is no time, no resources, and no one to listen.

Farzana shared that in her community, discussing mental health issues is considered unnecessary. The focus is always on the immediate needs: food, shelter, and survival. When she feels overwhelmed, she finds herself pushing those feelings down because there’s no other option. Her story is a reminder that the concept of mental health awareness often overlooks people like her, whose struggles go unseen and unaddressed. There is a need for society to recognize and act on the mental health challenges faced by the underprivileged, because no one should be left to bear such burdens in silence.