Actor Vijay Varma has opened up about his mental health issues for the first time. The actor was in conversation with Rhea Chakraborty in her podcast, where he shared that he was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety, and he turned to yoga as well as therapy to heal.
What Vijay shared
During the chat, Vijay shared, “I was all alone in an apartment in Mumbai. Luckily, I had a small terrace – I could see the sky, be with the elements. Otherwise, I would’ve gone mad. Actually, I did. What happened to me is that pause, that constant running after work, the byproduct is that you become so lonely. I felt very lonely, very afraid and I was like why can’t I move from my couch for four days? What’s going on?”
How Ira Khan helped him
He went on to add how Aamir Khan’s daughter Ira Khan helped him at that time. He said, “At that time, Ira and Gulshan [Devaiah] were like my little support system. Ira was assisting on Dahaad, and we had all become good friends during the shoot. We’d video call each other on Zoom, have dinners – that was our circle. But I kept deteriorating. She was the first to point out, ‘Vijay, I think you need to start moving a little bit.’ She would do Zoom workouts and make me work out. Eventually, I did speak to a therapist, on Zoom, and I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety… My therapist even suggested medication. I told her, ‘Let me try managing for now.'” Vijay shared that he did surya namaskars and yoga as well as sought therapy.
On the work front, Vijay was last seen in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack and the film Murder Mubarak. He is set to star next in Gustaakh Ishq, which is slated to release on November 28.