Shefali Jariwala has never shied away from being vocal about subjects that most people don’t open up about. The actress, who’s been advocating for mental health awareness on social media, recently opened up own experience of battling anxiety and depression right after her insanely popular music video ‘Kaanta Laga’ released in 2002.
Shefali Jariwala on battling epilepsy seizures
Credit: Shefali Jariwala, Instagram
Curious fans have been wondering why the actress went missing after the successful music video. Jariwala has finally answered all their questions.
Recalling how stress and anxiety led to serious epilepsy seizures, Jariwala told ETimes, “I had an epilepsy seizure at the age of 15. I remember at that time I was under tremendous pressure to do well in my studies. Stress and anxiety can lead to seizures. It’s interrelated, you could get a seizure due to depression and vice versa. I have got seizures in classrooms, backstage, while on roads, and somewhere that lowered my self-esteem.”
Credit: Shefali Jariwala, Instagram
The actress battled epilepsy for 15 years. “After I did ‘Kaanta Laga’, people asked me why I didn’t do more work. I can now say that it was because of the epilepsy seizures that I couldn’t take up much work. I didn’t know when I would get my next seizure. This went on for 15 years. Today, I am nine years seizure-free. I am proud of myself because I managed my depression, panic attacks and anxiety naturally and with the help of a strong support system,” she said.
Credit: Shefali Jariwala, Instagram
The actress stressed on how she kept herself occupied mentally and physically during the pandemic to keep stress and anxiety at bay.
She said, “The pandemic situation has been tough, but I consciously worked on my mental health and stayed away from any kind of things that could trigger depression. I focused on doing meditation, yoga, sketching, drawing and other things that kept me happy. Exercise and some positive lifestyle changes helped me a lot.”
Shefali has put the idea of adopting a child on hold
Credit: Shefali Jariwala, Instagram
Previously, Jariwala and her husband Parag Tyagi had expressed a desire to adopt a child. However, the couple has decided to put the idea on hold for now as Shefali confessed she isn’t in the right state of mind during these dire times.
She told Peepingmoon.com, “There is something that we were talking about and we started counseling for that. But that time was very different. You know before the whole Corona situation. Now, things have gotten so delayed with Parag not being around, me not being in the best state of my mind, so we just put it on hold because it’s a very big decision. It will happen but the time has to be right. You need to be absolutely sane and positive about everything but I have not been that sane this year. I’ve to be ready for it, it’s a very very big decision. And because of the lockdown, things have gotten so delayed that I think it’s for the best that things have gotten delayed because even I don’t feel well enough right now.”
Lead Image Credit: Shefali Jariwala, Instagram
