Ira Khan. (courtesy: khan.ira)
Ira Khan, superstar Aamir Khan's daughter, has always been open about her life. This involves sharing glimpses of her relationship, victories and struggles on social media. On several occasions, Ira Khan has opened up about her mental health battles with her followers on Instagram. Late on Saturday, Ira Khan shared a mirror selfie and spoke about her recent anxiety attacks. Explaining further in the caption, she said, “I've started getting anxiety attacks. I've had anxiety. And I used to get overwhelmed. And have crying fits. But I've never had anxiety attacks before. It's the difference between panic and panic attacks. Anxiety versus anxiety attacks.”
Sharing more details, Ira Khan continued, “As far as I understand it (anxiety attacks), they have physiological symptoms. Palpitations, breathlessness. Plus crying. And it builds. Slowly. Feels like impending doom. This is what mine feels like. I do not know what a panic attack is like. It's a really crappy feeling. My therapist said if it's become regular (context, I had 1 or 2 over 2 months versus almost every day now), I needed to tell my doctor/psychiatrist.”
Ira Khan also stated her intent behind sharing the note. “In case anyone needed words to describe how they're feeling and this can be of any help,” she said.
Adding that she was “feeling pretty helpless,” Ira Khan said, “Because I really want to go to sleep (it usually happens at night for me) but I can't because it won't stop. I try to identify my fears, talk myself down. But once it's hit you, I haven't found a way to stop it. You kind of need to ride it out. So far. That's what I've figured.”
“But while it's building, talking to Popeye and breathing has helped make it not come to an attack. At least for a few hours,” she said, talking about her boyfriend Nupur Shikhare. "It also depends on if I get re-stressed by another stimulus later. Life's full of variables. If you're trying to be mindful, remember to take them all into account. Hang in there,” Ira Khan added in the caption.
She also said that the selfie she shared was taken after a long shower following an attack. “Showers are a beautiful thing. More on that later,” she wrote concluding the note.
Shruti Haasan, actress and daughter of legend Kamal Haasan, replied with heart emojis.
Earlier, during an Ask Me Anything session on Instagram, Ira Khan was asked by an Instagram user about how she “beat depression?" Ira Khan, who has previously spoken about her battle with depression, said, "Get to know yourself. Figure out what you like, and what you don't like. Who you like, who you don't like and what you want and then you'll try and start to live your life that way. I think." Read about it here.
Ira Khan is the younger of Aamir Khan's two children with his first wife Reena Dutta.