Deepika Padukone Opens Up About Being Diagnosed With Depression & Anxiety

Deepika Padukone is on Harper’s Bazaar‘s Fall 2019 digital cover, out now.

Here’s what the 33-year-old Indian actress had to say…

On the years following her first film, Om Shanti Om: “To be cast in such a mammoth movie with absolutely no film experience, without auditioning, without any of the usual checks that you go through before being cast in a big film, that was surreal. It saved me many years of having to prove myself, but it also meant I had to go through a slump, in a way, just to learn the craft, to learn the mechanics. It took me a while to get to where I am now, which is a place of confidence, of comfort, of familiarity.”

On being diagnosed with depression and anxiety: “I wasn’t aware of what mental illness was, and I didn’t realize the importance of mental health. When we have a fever, we know what the symptoms are. Why aren’t we taught to recognize the symptoms of mental illness in the same way? It was a lack of awareness on my part, but also on the part of the people around me. What if it wasn’t for my mother? Who else would have helped me?”

On how her mom encouraged her to seek professional help: “Typically, in an Indian family, we like to solve our problems internally…I had to deal with that stigma on my journey to recovery…She was able to sense that this was not something that can be solved in a family huddle…I don’t think I’d be here today if it wasn’t for my mother. I realized the importance of self-care, and when I do it, I do it without guilt. I think women especially have a tendency of doing it with a lot of guilt attached.”

For more from Deepika, head to HarpersBazaar.com.