Ileana D'cruz wants to bust myths around mental health, reveals she goes for therapy

Bollywood actor Ileana D'cruz in a recent interview shared her views on mental health. She revealed that she was struggling with body image issues and had to visit a therapist for the same. Recalling her own experience of dealing with mental health, the actor shared that she wants to break the taboos related to it by addressing the issue and normalising it.

"I have been a bit harsh with myself"

While many celebrities have come forward to talk about the importance of mental health and how one should always address these issue seriously, Ileana D'cruz in a chat with Bollywood Hungama admitted that she has body dysmorphia issues which have been deeply rooted into her since her teenage years and how attending therapy has only helped her with the same. Talking about her life, which is always under the public eye, Ileana quipped that she has been a bit harsh with herself when she sees pictures of herself that were clicked when she was not in the right headspace. Ileana shared that whenever she saw a bad photo of herself in the press she would immediately start blaming herself with things like, "'Oh my God, what were you thinking, why did you wear that?" She further added that going to therapy helped her realise that getting caught off-guard is okay and she is only human.

When asked about how she keeps her emotions in check when she is constantly expected to smile and be cheerful due to her profession, Ileana shared that she tries her best to interact with her fans with a friendly attitude. 

Ileana D'cruz wants to break taboos around mental health

While talking about the taboos surrounding mental health, Ileana recalled her own experience of seeing a therapist because she felt like she needed to. She recounted that her initial thought whilst attending therapy was she really does not need it and she is going to prove the therapist wrong. But later, she realised that her thoughts were absolute nonsense as she genuinely needed help. She mentioned that there is nothing wrong with asking for help for things that are going around in your mind and it is okay to let loose, break down and cry. She signed off by saying that we need to talk about many things, and that includes addressing the importance of mental health. She said that we all would be a lot more sensitive and a lot healthier if we opened up and just listened to other people.

A look at Ileana D'cruz's movies and upcoming releases

After working for 6 years in Tamil and Telugu movies, Ileana made her big Bollywood debut with the critically acclaimed movie Barfi!. Since then the actor has been a part of several Bollywood movies including, Rustom, Main Tera Hero, Phata Poster Nikhla Hero and Raid among many others. She was last seen in the film The Big Bull that released on Disney+ Hotstar in which she played the role of a journalist. In the interview, the actor revealed that she is currently not shooting for any film and is keener on working in the OTT space.

(Promo Image Courtesy: Ileana D'cruz Instagram)