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In case you are going through a period of overwhelm, here are some things that you can do for your mental health.
Ananya Panday reveals how the trolling and hate comments impacted her mental health.
When Ananya Panday made her acting debut in 2019 with Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year 2, she was trolled for her work. She was trolled for her performances and for being a ‘nepo baby.’ In a recent interview, the CTRL actor revealed that the trolling did have an impact on her. She mentioned that she had to undergo therapy to deal with the trolling and negativity.
Speaking at Barkha Dutt’s We The Women event, Ananya Panday opened up about how the hate comments, the negativity, and the trolling had a toll on her when she had just started her career in Bollywood. She said, “I have done therapy in the past, I am not as regular now. I could not articulate my emotions. I used to just feel very, very down. The thing, I sometimes feel with mental health and social media, is that you may read something in the moment and you may not realize that it is affecting you, because you think ‘I am fine right now, I am having a good day, I am in the car, I am busy.’ I will read a comment and I will ignore it. But weeks later, it could still be there in your subconscious somewhere, and things that like really pile up. With therapy, I was just able to consolidate my feelings and articulate my thoughts a little better.”
Panday talked about how she did not feel like going to the sets because of what was said about her on social media. She continued, “Honestly, a lot has been said about me, so I can’t really choose one moment… sometimes when I can’t control a narrative that makes me upset. For instance, when I started out, in my first year (in films), someone made a fake account on Instagram, and they started writing they were in school with me and said I lied about my education and getting into college. First, I was like, ‘No one is going to believe that.’ But people did believe it… somedays, I definitely don’t want to be on social media… when I was in school, I had been called everything from hunchback to flat chest to chicken leg and hairy. But we were in a bubble, and now, because of social media, the smallest of voices can be amplified across the world, and this is definitely a scary time.”
In case you going through a period of overwhelm, here are seven things that you can do for your mental health.
- Engage in physical activities like walks, runs, yoga, or dance, to name a few. Exercise releases endorphins that act as natural stress relievers.
- Practice deep breathing, mindfulness meditation, or guided meditation. This can help calm the nervous system, reduce anxiety, and center your thoughts.
- Identify your triggers and limit your exposure to them.
- Take a social media break, if necessary.
- Be gentle with yourself and practice self-compassion.
- Find creative outlets to let your feelings out.
- Do not shy away from seeking professional help.