Mental illness can affect our affect our mood, thoughts and behaviour. However, people find it hard to get help since it is mostly invisible, and unlike physical illness, the lack of symptoms makes it difficult to diagnose.
A few days ago, a National Award-winning actor burst her self-confessed “bubble of denial,” and came out to speak about her battle with severe anxiety and depression.
In a touching Instagram post on Thursday night, Zaira Wasim, whose performance in Dangal and Secret Superstar awed many, spoke about her four-year-long struggle and said that she was scared to talk about it due to the various stigmas surrounding mental health.
The actor in the post mentions medication, anxiety attacks, repeated hospitalisation, and other issues, including not being able to sleep for weeks. The post goes on to describe her state of mind, and she adds that people around her, including doctors, dismissed her thoughts, saying she was too young to feel depressed.
Zaira suffered two panic attacks—one at the age of 12 and one when she was 14. Since then, a series of such attacks have occurred, and she spoke of losing count of the number of medications she was prescribed.
While she took time to come to terms with the fact that she was suffering from depression, she eventually got over her fears and understands her issues much better now. Depression and anxiety, she says, is not someone’s fault or choice, it is an illness and needs serious attention.
She has decided to take a break from everything, including work, school, and social media, and is looking forward to the holy month of Ramadan, as it will be the perfect opportunity to figure things out.
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This step by the actor shows how mental health issues can affect people across all age groups. We hope she emerges victorious in her battle against depression, and her post encourages people suffering in a similar manner, to seek professional help.
Featured image credit: Facebook
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
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