Dhaka, Bangladesh, Oct. 1 -- Tears have no colour, they say. Yet in Bangladesh, countless tears fall quietly, behind closed doors, where no one notices.

A mother wakes before dawn, her chest tight with panic because sleep has once again betrayed her. A factory worker forces his trembling hands through another endless shift. A teenage girl laughs with her siblings while a storm of fear rages inside her.

These are not isolated tales of sadness. They are glimpses into the daily battles of people living with mental illness. Some carry a diagnosis. Many do not. Yet all of them shoulder conditions too often brushed aside - as weakness, as silence, as shame.

They are everywhere. But for each of them, there is almost no hand to hold, no ear to...