Imran Khan on battling mental health issues: His daughter Imaara became my North Star on the path to wellness

Imran Khan with his daughter Imaara

Imran Khan is making headlines for the right reasons. The actor, who left showbiz a few years ago, reconnected with his audience thanks to social networks. Sharing anecdotes from his sets, Imran is keeping movie buffs in suspense as his comeback approaches. On Sunday, he attended the Indian Film Project and addressed the audience.

At the Indian Film Project event, Imran was asked about his tough battle with mental health. The actor said: “What you say about going out and all that, I’ve struggled with that for many, many years. You are not alone in this. Right now, this is the largest group of people I’ve interacted with or been around in seven or eight years. Thanks for your support, guys. I appreciate it. You are absolutely not alone in this. I have trouble with public things. I have trouble with crowds. I struggle with the idea that just going to a restaurant is a challenge and that I need to prepare emotionally in advance. You are not alone in this. The path to healing, the path to wellness, the path to sorting these things out kind of starts with feeling like why you need an anchor, you need a goal. You need a North Star.

Thanking his daughter Imaara for being his anchor and his “North Star”, Imran said: “As a father, I have become very aware of the fact that if I want to be a good father, if I want to be present for my child, if I want to love her, support her, give her everything I have, it starts by being strong and healthy myself. If I don’t feel good, if I’m fragile, if I’m fragile, if I’m not there, how can I be the best father possible? So that became my North Star. It has become my guiding light. You find something, whatever your thing is, it might even be internal, but you have to hold on to it. It’s a part, and it’s hard, and you have to make it your job. All right. I’m going to therapy. I go to analysis four days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday. I’ve been going there since 2017. That’s six years. I still go there four days a week. So, maybe this is your path, but it always starts with a commitment to yourself, saying, “I need to heal myself. I need to take charge of myself and I’m going to make it my job.”

In a recent post, Imran revealed how ashamed he was of not having “powerful and heroic physique” in his youth. He also shared in his post: “In recent years, as I battled depression and stopped working out, I became skinnier than I had ever been. When I was photographed, it sparked a media discussion about my well-being and speculation about drug addiction. ! I felt deeply ashamed, embarrassed to be seen by someone in this state. So I backed off even further.”