Mumbai, Jun 15 (IANS): Actor Ashish Chowdhry admitted that there was a time when he struggled with mental illness, saying that his friends helped him overcome the battle, adding that they continue to do so.

He opened up about his struggle as the sudden demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput again brought forward the conversations around mental health and the importance of speaking up.

"I thought I had all the right to believe that I've seen and been thru the worst. But it's subjective. One can't fathom the pain of the other. So loving and being loved is the only go to. Sharing and listening is medicine. Friends we can do that with means everything," Ashish tweeted.

"I dipped after 26/11. Even financially. And I'm clear it was my friends who saved me. They save me to date. I can only thank the universe by promising I'll always be there for them. I'm a phone call away. And I've a lot of love and gratitude to give. Friends are our only earning," he added.

The actor feels "humans sadly have an appetite for negativity".

"They gorge on gossip, backbiting and judging. It's business for some and entertainment for many. And insensitively is a more dreadful virus than coronavirus. It's spread deep. That needs a cure. We need to share sensitivity. Share love," he added.

Sushant was found hanging in his residence on Sunday morning by his domestic help. Sushant's demise comes within days of the news of his manager Disha Salian's death.

The actor is best known for his titular role in Neeraj Pandey's 2016 release, "MS Dhoni: The Untold Story", the biopic of former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

He made his film debut in Abhishek Kapoor's 2013 release, "Kai Po Che!", and was seen in films like "Chhichhore", "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!", "Raabta", "Kedarnath" and "Shudh Desi Romance".