On World Mental Health Day, Actor Imran Khan Shares His Struggle With Depression

New Delhi: In 2008, Imran Khan became a heartthrob with his debut film ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’ and went on to deliver other hit films. The last we saw him was in 2015 in ‘Katti Batti’ opposite Kangana and then, no one heard of him.

One day, he started experiencing anxiety. It began with things like waking up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. “I didn’t consider seeking help then,” Khan confessed, according to Hindustan Times. But around 2016, it developed into a pattern, and he decided to seek professional advice.

“It’s been eight years since I started going for analysis sessions,” said the 41-year-old, on World Mental Health Day today.

The actor recalls that conversations about mental health were taboo a decade ago. “People, in general, didn’t have an attitude of acceptance. Today’s generation has embraced the idea of mental health care. Their sympathy is mind-blowing. If someone says, ‘I was not feeling great, I went through analysis’, others will encourage them to talk more about it, rather than being judgemental,” he was quoted as saying.

Khan, however, considers himself lucky that the people around him never attached any stigma to the issue. The fact that his mother is a practising psychoanalyst helped him to get a very clear perspective on mental health. More than being diagnosed with depression, he voluntarily sought analysis.

So, does he feel happier now? “Happiness is a strange word, because you cannot always be happy. Rather, the question is. Do you feel like getting out of the bed in the morning and doing stuff? If not, you are in a state of actual collapse. In that way, I am in a place that is healthier. Since my early 20s, I had not been in a healthy space, emotionally or psychologically,” the actor told Hindustan Times.