Stress under scrutiny

A mental illness is crippling for anyone irrespective of their career and social strata. But when it comes to a celebrity, leading a comfortable life can be very difficult as they are constantly in the limelight, scrutinised by millions of eyes. Actress Ileana D’Cruz recently opened up about her anxiety issues, which include depression and the lesser known Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).

BDD is a mental condition where a person obsesses over imagined or non-existent flaws in their appearance and exaggerates them. Dr Radhika Acharya, a clinical psychologist, says that the disorder is extremely intrusive. “It generates severe emotional distress. People don’t step out of their houses and avoid social situations because they think they look terrible. In India, every year, about 10 lakh people are affected by the condition. It could be because people are becoming increasingly conscious about their looks and social media and the film industry are constantly adding to it,” she says.

“For people in the limelight, it is obviously much more difficult. It may even affect their careers, but even for a common man, it is not easy to deal with this illness,” she adds.

In a place like India where mental health is not given even half the importance given to physical health, some people try to spread awareness in their own way. Bollywood director Madhur Bhandarkar, who has dealt with topics like depression in his movies Fashion, Heroine and Page 3, also says that depression may strike people in all professions, but it is slightly more difficult for celebrities. “If your neighbour who works for an MNC changes jobs, no one will be bothered. But when it comes to actors and people in the world of showbiz, their lives are under constant scrutiny and are continuously monitored by the media. They have to show the world that they are happy even if they are not. Even if they are depressed inside, they are obliged to post happy pictures and merry statuses,” he says.

Rakul Preet Singh too agrees that the criticisms an actor faces based on their appearance is pressurising.

“There could be days when I want to walk around in my worst looking clothes — probably a loose T-shirt and shorts, but I’d be judged for it. I don’t understand the concept of being photographed at the airport. I don’t like wearing makeup all the time and I’m also human. You can’t expect me to look great all the time,” she says.

Director Vikram Bhatt candidly talks about the absurd standards the film industry imposes on actors.

“I have worked with women who keep checking their hair all the time; I once worked with an actress who would reject a shot if she had blinked during the shoot. You see actors and actresses with different OCDs a lot. We create standards and then actresses try to go for cosmetic surgeries like nose jobs, lip jobs, and even body sculpting to ensure that they adhere to these strange prescriptions of the standard. It is definitely a lot of pressure to put on anyone,” he says.

Another actress Shriya Saran also agrees that every profession is mentally taxing at some level and says that she deals with it by practising yoga. “All this boils down to our education system. Right from a very young age, we are taught to compete for everything and it creates so much pressure. Yoga and meditation are scientifically and medically proven to release pressure. So, I think it should be taught to everyone right from their young age,” she advises.