Priya Ahuja Rajda: My social media posts come from a state of anxiety and depression

Actor Priya Ahuja Rajda, best known for her stint in TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, says her social media posts act as a reminder about the good things in life, and she doesn’t really posts about days when she is low.

In the virtual world of filters and touch-ups, actor Priya Ahuja Rajda is embracing her real self by flaunting her body transformation and stretch marks post delivery. While the images send a “body positive message”, she also confesses they all don’t come from a happy state of mind.

Actor Priya Ahuja Rajda is working on getting over her worries and anxiety

“Sometimes, they come from a lot of anxiety and depression. I’m handling a toddler, with two dogs at home, out of which one is a bit aggressive and keeps on trying to bite him (the baby). So, managing all these things, with the pandemic, has just made life more difficult,” Rajda tells us.

Last week, she posted her pictures in a swimsuit from her Maldives vacation, on Instagram, and wrote, “I have loose skin and fat but I’m proud of all that”. Before that, she opened up on the struggle of raising a child amid the pandemic. But there are times when her posts are far away from reality, as she admits, “I portray all the happy pictures. I don’t post when I get up and cry in the morning, or when my mood is not good”.

For the actor, best known for her role of Rita Reporter in TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, the posts sometimes act as a reminder about the good things in life.

“I realised that I don’t need to think that I’m upset and angry, instead work on my anger, worries and anxiety,” she says.

When it comes to her battle with depression, she’s tackling it by taking time out to meditate and practice yoga.

“The problem is that people don’t understand the difference between being upset and being depressed. I’ve gone through postpartum depression after my delivery, and there is nothing wrong in admitting it,” shares Rajda, whose son, Ardaas, was born in 2019.

It all triggered when her whole life changed after giving birth, with her day starting and ending with the baby. “Postpartum depression is one of the most underrated mental depression. Hum log break-up ki baat karte hain, upset kyun hai uski baat karte hain, but iski nahi,” rues Rajda, wondering why do people shy away from discussing such conditions when there are many women struggling to cope up with it.

The actor reveals she herself took therapies because there was an unexplained sadness inside her despite being “happy with the baby”. She calls her husband, director Malav Rajda, her “pillar of strength in this”.

She shares how he helps her get over her vanity fears, be it about pigmentation on her face or her body transformation. “I’ve seen my father body shaming my mother a lot of time. I’m grateful I’ve got a husband who’s supportive, and has always appreciated my body and my looks,” concludes the actor, who’s intentionally not taking up work as she wants to spend time with her child.