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Voices

People you know who asked for help

Well-known actors who have said, in their own words and in public, that there was a stage when they needed a counsellor or therapist. Success did not make them immune, and asking for help did not make them less.

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Indian cinema

Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone

Actor · spoke publicly in 2015

Depression

At the height of her career she went public about a period of depression in 2014, describing waking up feeling empty and directionless despite everything going well on the outside. She has said that her family noticing something was wrong, and seeking professional help, was the turning point.

What helped: Worked with a psychiatrist and counsellor, and went on to found The Live Love Laugh Foundation to reduce stigma around mental health in India.

Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan

Actor · spoke publicly in 2010

Low mood after injury

After shoulder surgery kept him from working, he spoke about slipping into a low, withdrawn state that he had not expected, and about how much of his sense of self was tied to being busy and physically able.

What helped: Talked about it openly in interviews rather than hiding it, at a time when few leading actors did.

Anushka Sharma

Anushka Sharma

Actor and producer · spoke publicly in 2017

Anxiety

She said publicly that she lives with anxiety and is treating it, and that she wanted to say so plainly because so many people around her were struggling in silence.

What helped: Sought treatment, and used her platform to say that getting help is normal.

Ileana D'Cruz

Ileana D'Cruz

Actor · spoke publicly in 2018

Depression and body image

She has written and spoken about years of depression, anxiety and body dysmorphia, including feeling that she was never enough even while working constantly, and about how long it took to say it out loud.

What helped: Went to therapy and has continued to talk about it publicly so others feel less alone.

Varun Dhawan

Varun Dhawan

Actor · spoke publicly in 2016

Stress from a role

He described going through a phase of depression while making an intense film, finding it hard to step out of the character and the heaviness it brought with it.

What helped: Talked it through with people close to him and with a professional, and has since spoken about the importance of switching off.

Alia Bhatt

Alia Bhatt

Actor · spoke publicly in 2019

Anxiety

She has spoken about waves of anxiety that arrive without an obvious reason, and about learning not to fight the feeling but to sit with it and talk about it, encouraged by a sister who has written openly about depression.

What helped: Leaned on family and conversation, and has said therapy is something she values.

International

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnson

Actor · spoke publicly in 2018

Depression

He spoke about depression in his twenties after his mother's suicide attempt and the end of his football career, and about the lesson that men in particular need to say when they are not okay.

What helped: Encouraged people, especially men, to open up and ask for help, calling it the strongest thing he ever did.

Emma Stone

Emma Stone

Actor · spoke publicly in 2016

Anxiety since childhood

She has described panic attacks from the age of seven and a childhood shaped by anxiety, and how therapy and acting classes gave her ways to manage it that she still uses.

What helped: Started therapy as a child and has spoken to young people about anxiety through a children's mental-health charity.

Kristen Bell

Kristen Bell

Actor · spoke publicly in 2016

Anxiety and depression

She has said that anxiety and depression run in her family, that she takes medication and sees a therapist, and that none of this makes her weaker at her job or as a parent.

What helped: Talks about it matter-of-factly to take the shame out of getting help.

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez

Actor and singer · spoke publicly in 2020

Anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder

After years of stepping away from work for treatment, she shared a bipolar diagnosis and later made a documentary about the ups and downs of living with her mind.

What helped: Went through inpatient treatment and dialectical behaviour therapy, and started a fund for mental-health services for young people.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga

Singer and actor · spoke publicly in 2016

Trauma and PTSD

She has spoken about post-traumatic stress after an assault in her teens, about chronic pain that came with it, and about how long she hid all of it while performing.

What helped: Worked with therapists and co-founded a foundation focused on young people's mental health.

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds

Actor · spoke publicly in 2018

Anxiety

He has described lifelong anxiety, including dread before public appearances that he masks with humour, and the difference it made to name it rather than perform through it.

What helped: Talks about it openly and has spoken about the value of therapy and of not going through it alone.

Their stage was public. Yours does not have to be.

A first conversation is confidential, fifteen minutes long, and free. If any of these stories sound familiar, that is a good enough reason to book it.

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These summaries are written from each person's own public interviews, essays and posts, in our words rather than theirs, and may not capture every detail of their experience. None of the people named is connected with MyEra or endorses it. Counselling is not a substitute for emergency medical or psychiatric care. If you are experiencing an immediate mental-health emergency or are at risk of harming yourself or someone else, please contact local emergency services or an appropriate emergency mental-health service.

Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons, cropped): Deepika Padukone: Narendra Modi (official account), CC BY 3.0; Shah Rukh Khan: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0; Anushka Sharma: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0; Ileana D'Cruz: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0; Varun Dhawan: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0; Alia Bhatt: Gabriel Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 4.0; Dwayne Johnson: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0; Emma Stone: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0; Kristen Bell: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0; Selena Gomez: Frank Sun, CC BY-SA 4.0; Lady Gaga: Carlos M. Vazquez II, CC BY 2.0; Ryan Reynolds: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0.

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