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

Imran Khan with daughter Imaara

Imran Khan is making headlines for the right reasons. The actor, who quit showbiz a couple of years ago, is reconnecting with his audience through social media. Sharing anecdotes from his film sets, Imran is keeping movie buffs on the edge of their seats with regards to his comeback. On Sunday, he attended the Indian Film Project and addressed the audience.

During the Indian Film Project event, Imran was asked about going through a tough battle with mental health. The actor said, "The thing that you're saying about going out and all of that, I have had difficulty with that for many, many years. You're not alone on this. Right now, this is the largest group of people that have interacted with or been with in seven or eight years. Thanks for being supportive, guys. I appreciate it. You're totally not alone in that. I struggle with public stuff. I struggle with crowds. I struggle with the idea, like, that just going out to a restaurant is challenging, and I have to prepare myself emotionally beforehand. You're not alone on that. The path to healing, the path to wellness, the path to sorting this stuff out kind of starts with a sense of, what is it that you need an anchor, you need a goal. You need a North Star."

Crediting his daughter Imaara for being his anchor and 'North Star', Imran said, "As a father, I became very conscious 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 that I have, that starts with me being strong and healthy myself. If I'm unwell, if I'm frail, if I'm fragile, if I'm not there, how can I be the best father that I can possibly be? So then that became my North Star. That became my guiding light. You find something, whatever your thing is, it may even be internal, but you have to latch onto that part, and it's difficult, and you have to make it your job. Okay. I go to therapy. I go to analysis four days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday. I have been going since 2017. That's six years. Four days a week, I still go. So, maybe that is your path, but it does always start with you kind of making that commitment to self, saying, "I need to heal myself. I need to take myself, and I'm going to make this my job".

In a recent post, Imran revealed how he was shamed for not having a 'powerful, heroic physique' in his younger days. He also shared in the post, "In recent years, as I battled depression and stopped working out, I became skinnier than I'd ever been. When I was photographed, it sparked a media discussion about my wellbeing, and speculations of drug abuse! I felt deeply ashamed, embarrassed to be seen by anyone in this state. So I retreated further."