‘The Man Behind’ Episode 2: “He Forced Me To Speak To My Psychiatrist,” A Wife On How Her Husband Helped Her After A Miscarriage

We need more men like him!

I recently came across an old interview of Deepika Padukone where she talks about how it was her mother who first recognised that she was depressed and needed professional help. And that is so true for so many people out there who don’t know they need help but their loved ones do. In fact, this is especially true when a person has had a traumatic experience. Just take the instance of Keertthi who was pushed to seek professional help after her miscarriage by her husband, Chetan. 

In the second episode of Hauterrfly’s The Man Behind, Keertthi opens up about her and her husband, Chetan’s experience when they went through a miscarriage right after marriage. She talks about how at that time he was the one to figure out that she needed to see a psychiatrist because there was something wrong.

Keertthi talks about how she and Chetan fell in love and later got married. One month into the marriage, she got pregnant and the two of them were beyond happy about a new member joining their family. 

But then things took a turn for the worse when 3 months into the pregnancy, Keertthi and Chetan went for an ultrasound where they came to know that the baby’s heart was not beating. The news completely broke them because they were already extremely attached to the baby.

Keertthi went through an abortion after the doctors said that there was nothing that they could do. After the abortion, for almost a month and a half, she did not speak to anyone. At the time Chetan was completely heartbroken seeing his wife going through so much pain.

Speaking about what it was like, Chetan said, “It was unbearable. Mein toh waise bhi usko rote hue nahi dekh sakta (I can’t see her crying). And dusra, she wasn’t even crying, she was shut. That is very dangerous – ke kya chal raha hai uske mind mein woh kisi ko nahi pata (that no one knew what was going on in her mind).”

Keertthi, who has a history of clinical depression, then went on to say how Chetan pushed her to seek professional help. She said, “He thought I was slipping into depression again. So, he asked me if I want to have an appointment with a psychiatrist and I said I don’t want. I said, I am fine… But then he booked an appointment with my psychiatrist and then he forced me to sit through a video consultation.” 

Keertthi added how she did not even realise how deep she was in her depression until Chetan pushed her to meet a psychiatrist and get help. She went on to say how he did everything in his power to make sure that she was okay and back to normal. 

Things started getting back to normal when they came to know that they were pregnant once again. To ensure that Keertthi was well taken care of this time around, Chetan left his work and was by her side throughout. Know their story on The Man Behind:

I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to have a partner that not only supports you but also pushes you to seek help when need be. To have a partner that doesn’t think mental health issues are taboo is such a boon. And I hope that Chetan inspires men out there to take mental health issues seriously and push their partners to seek professional help if and when they need it.

‘The Man Behind’ Episode 1: Anisha, Ashwani And Jessica Have The Most Adorable Family Bond Ever!