Zaira Wasim opens up about battle with depression
Mumbai, May 11: Actress Zaira Wasim, 17, who courted fame with "Dangal" and "Secret Superstar", says she has been suffering from depression for over four years, but was pushed into a "bubble of denial"
The National Award winner opened up about her struggle via a lengthy post shared on Instagram on Thursday night.
"I'm writing this to (finally) admit and confess that I, for a very long time have been suffering from depression," Zaira wrote.
She said she has been "embarrassed and scared" to admit it not only because of the stigma that goes around with the word depression, but most importantly because of always being told that 'You're too young to be depressed' or 'It's just a phase'".
The young and talented girl from Srinagar said she has sometimes popped five antidepressants everyday, faced anxiety attacks, was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night, felt empty, restless, anxious and hallucinated, apart from having sore limbs from sleeping too much or not being able to sleep for weeks.
"From overeating to starving myself, unexplained fatigue, body ache, self loathing, nervous breakdowns, suicidal thoughts, were all parts of this phase," said Zaira, who made her debut with Aamir Khan's 2016 drama "Dangal".
Zaira said she knew something wasn't right for her, however, people and doctors around her told her, "It's nothing, you're too young to be depressed".
Her first panic attack was at the age of 12, and another one at 14.
"Now all I remember is losing count of the number of panic attacks, losing count of the number of medicines I've had and I'm still having..."
Zaira said she could never accept the fact that she suffers from a disorder called depression, which "affects almost 350 million people worldwide; without asking for their permission to ruin their mental and emotional state or asking them their age".
Depression and anxiety is not a feeling, she said.
"It's an illness. It's not somebody's choice or fault. It can affect anyone, anytime."
Now she has embraced it and understood it, and decided to share about the struggle "without being ashamed, embarrassed and having the fear of being judged for it".
Zaira said perhaps a "complete break from everything, my social life, my work, school and especially social media", might help her.
"I'm really looking forward to the holy month of Ramadan as it may be the perfect opportunity to figure things out. Please remember me in your prayers."
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Regulator DGCA eases flight duty norms for pilots amid IndiGo crisis
Mumbai (PTI): Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday eased the flight duty norms by allowing substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period amid massive operational disruptions at IndiGo, according to sources.
As per the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, "no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest", which means that weekly rest period and leaves are to be treated separately. The clause was part of efforts to address fatigue issues among the pilots.
Citing IndiGo flight disruptions, sources told PTI that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to withdraw the provision 'no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest' from the FDTL norms.
ALSO READ: 49 Indigo flights likely to be cancelled from Hyderabad
"In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision," DGCA said in a communication dated December 5.
The gaps in planning ahead of the implementation of the revised FDTL, the second phase of which came into force from November 1, have resulted in crew shortage at IndiGo and is one of the key reasons for the current disruptions.
#BREAKING: #DGCA relaxes a clause which debarred airlines to club leaves with weekly rest to mitigate #IndiGo crisis
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) December 5, 2025
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