World Mental Health Day 2025| Rhea Chakraborty opens up on her battle with PTSD, getting her passport back
On World Mental Health Day, Rhea Chakraborty talks about her battle with PTSD, the stigma around mental health issues and finally getting her passport back
Rhea Chakraborty has gone through a lot in the last five years, impacting not just her personal and professional life but also her mental health. While she could have easily broken down due to it all, she chose to fight it and today, she stands strong advocating for mental health awareness.
On World Mental Health Day today, Rhea Chakraborty shares her own experience with mental health issues us. “I suffered from PTSD and at the slightest things, like if a person even ran towards me to open a door, I used to feel so panicky. I used to get lactic acid build up in my calves because PTSD activates your fight or flight response; you are constantly in that survival mode. Over a period of time my gut got affected, because the gut is your second brain. I changed my lifestyle completely for two years. I turned vegetarian and I used to only eat khichdi,” she shares.
Commenting on the situation in the current scenario, Rhea adds, “I feel that the mental health crisis is a pandemic and everyone is going through it. I can tell you someone as young as 15-16 today will be like ‘I have anxiety’ because of the hustle culture. There is a pressure to do so much all the time.”
While she admits that the conversation and awareness around mental health has improved, the public apprehension still persists. “There's still a stigma around mental health. Talking about one's experiences, whether it's anxiety, depression, PTSD, or any trauma, it's still frowned upon. While there is a section of society that has understood that mental health problems are real, the biggest problem that we, as a society, face is judgement.”
{{/usCountry}}While she admits that the conversation and awareness around mental health has improved, the public apprehension still persists. “There's still a stigma around mental health. Talking about one's experiences, whether it's anxiety, depression, PTSD, or any trauma, it's still frowned upon. While there is a section of society that has understood that mental health problems are real, the biggest problem that we, as a society, face is judgement.”
{{/usCountry}}Rhea asserts the importance of therapy too: “I have done therapy for three-and-a-half years and there was a time when I did therapy every week. Every Wednesday at 4pm for two years and four months non-stop, I did not miss a single session. Therapy really saved me, so people who say that therapy is nonsense, I don't believe that.”
{{/usCountry}}Rhea asserts the importance of therapy too: “I have done therapy for three-and-a-half years and there was a time when I did therapy every week. Every Wednesday at 4pm for two years and four months non-stop, I did not miss a single session. Therapy really saved me, so people who say that therapy is nonsense, I don't believe that.”
{{/usCountry}}Giving her two cents on what we need to do to improve the situation of mental health crisis, Rhea says, “It's just about becoming more aware and understanding. This should be treated like any physical ailment. If someone has cancer, we don't judge it. So, in a way, this is a cancer of the mind. If people start viewing it this way, there will be zero judgement towards mental health. We just have to change our perspective.”
Rhea on getting her passport back
Talking about getting her passport back recently, Rhea Chakraborty says, “The level of trauma that I have seen, whatever happens relative to that, it feels small. I feel this is a gift that every person who goes through trauma receives. It makes you better equipped to deal with any kind of trauma that comes next and you do value the small things. The most prestigious thing for me in my life today is normalcy. Just to have my passport back, whether I take the trip or not, but just to be able to feel free in my head that if some work comes tomorrow that needs me to travel urgently, I can. That feeling of freedom makes me feel like I have got a gift from God. These small things become the big things, and when they do, everything else feels achievable.”
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