Golfer and mental health activist Anisha Padukone discusses how she got into the sport, why she works on mental health advocacy and more

I think it came naturally, but also by chance. I was always an active child and loved playing outdoors. I also grew up in a generation which didn’t have devices, so the only thing you did for entertainment was go and play outdoors.

I joined my father when he was taking a membership at one of the golf clubs in the city. I tagged along with him when I was about 12 years old. That was the age when I was trying and playing many different sports. By around the age of 10, I knew that career-wise, I wanted to be an athlete. I was playing cricket seriously at that time, representing Karnataka for the state. Then, coincidentally, I went to the golf course with my father and something just clicked. With golf, you’ll either be absolutely addicted or completely despise it. I fell in love with it. Something about it just kept drawing me back. I started enjoying the coaching and playing on the golf course. Two, three years into playing golf, I had a chat with my dad and said, “This is probably something that I want to do as a career.” The backing and support from my family were crucial.

My journey into mental health was largely because I was a caregiver. I’ve always maintained that I thought I knew enough about mental health until I was required to be a caregiver and it caught me off guard. That’s really the beginning of my journey, but it’s been a long journey. I’m still on this journey. I understood a lot more about mental health from mental health professionals in terms of caregiving. Then I started to understand a little bit more about how I can take care of myself better, of my mental health. And then the foundation came along. Now I have an immense sense of gratitude to be able to help others and hopefully not have them go through the same journey that I went through.

Because I work in mental health, in the last eight to ten years, I’ve prioritised it. It’s probably the number one thing — physical and mental health — that I work on. I’ve always loved remaining active. Movement in itself is useful, like therapy. It’s all the basics that professionals say, but I’ve seen the effects of it and how beneficial it can be. Sleep is also a very important part of my routine. When I don’t get the desired amount, I can see and feel that it bothers my health. Another thing is the food you consume, nutrition and the kind of diet you’re consuming. Also, starting my day a little bit earlier allows a few hours in the evening for ‘me time.’