Actress Alia Bhatt on Wednesday opened up about her struggles with ADHD and anxiety in a podcast with Jay Shetty, sharing that her body “heats up” in social gatherings.
The 31-year-old actress said that she began prioritising her mental health after she got inspired by her sister Shaheen Bhatt, who wrote a book titled I've Never Been (Un) Happier documenting her struggles with depression since the age of 13.
Crediting her mental well-being to Shaheen, Alia said, “Something about my sister's honesty inspired me to talk about it, not in a way that seems like I'm complaining about my life, because I know I'm not in a position to complain. I have it all. But, just to talk about it so that someone, somewhere, might resonate with it and feel like, 'Oh, okay, I’ve had the same kind of day,' or 'I have the same feelings,' and realise they’re not alone.”
“It often happens to me when I see an A-list celebrity, whether from Hollywood or internationally, speak about something I relate to, I think, 'Oh, they’re feeling it too.' It happens to all of us. That’s when I became more open to talking about my specific anxiety. I was recently clinically diagnosed, so I had proper backing, not just saying, 'Oh, I’m having an anxious day.' It’s not just that,” the Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani actress said.
“I was struggling, which is why I sought help. In social gatherings, my body would physically react. I’d start heating up. I also found it hard to focus; my attention kept drifting in and out,” Alia further explained, adding that she would give herself credit for being able to multitask.
However, her ability to multitask took a toll on her. “I needed to understand why. I started forgetting the most random things, even things I had scheduled,” she told Jay in the podcast.
Alia first opened up about her ADHD diagnosis in an interview last year. “I took a professional test over three days, not just a random personality test, and I was diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety. Strangely, I felt happy because my ADHD diagnosis gave me information. Lack of information is what throws me off the most, and I’m always seeking clarity and comfort. I’m very averse to change. But once I became aware of these things, dealing with them became much simpler,” she said.
The actress, who was last seen in the jailbreak thriller Jigra alongside Vedang Raina, also mentioned that she does not take any medication for her condition. “I’m not on medication, although I could be. I just chose not to. Instead, I’m actively working on managing it, and I think I’m doing pretty well,” she said.
On the work front, Alia has Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love and War and Shiv Ravail's female-centric spy thriller Alpha in the pipeline.
