It was a dark, helpless phase: Karan Johar opens up about his depression

Deepika Padukone has become a trendsetter in a way few could have imagined. After she spoke about her clinical depression, rumoured beau Ranveer Singh followed suit and now filmmaker Karan Johar is the latest one to talk about the “darkest phase” of his life.

In an interview to NDTV, Karan Johar said there was a time when he felt lonely and depressed. He didn’t want to meet people and found excuses to leave the city (Mumbai). “It was dark, deep and helpless time. There was nothing I could do about it,” he said.

“I stopped feeling excitement and happiness. There was lack of sleep and I was always on the edge. I think I hadn’t dealt entirely with the loss of my father. There was also the fear that I was not able to find my life partner. There is so much love I get from my friends but where do I take it all? I used to feel very lonely,” he added.

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When asked if loneliness was a side-effect of the film industry, Karan refused to blame Bollywood: “I think the industry per se should not be generalised for the reason of your loneliness but you really wonder how many of your relationships matter. We live in this bubble all the time. We don’t know if the emotions we have are just for the film or do I take it further. And at 44, when you don’t have a life partner or kids, it is difficult to deal with.”

“It is a recent kind of anxiety I have discovered about myself. At one point I thought I was having a cardiac arrest but my doctor said it was an anxiety attack. I then met a psychiatric and took medication. And this was just two years ago. I stopped my medication just three months back,” he added.

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