New Delhi: The Metro…In Dino actress Fatima Sana Shaikh has opened up about her long-term struggle with epilepsy and an eating disorder, both of which started after her physical transformation for the film Dangal.
“I’ve had a love-hate relationship with myself, and I’ve become addicted to a certain image of myself. I’ve had a toxic relationship with food. I gained weight in Dangal because I had to. When I’m goal-oriented, I do everything. I was training for three hours a day, so I had to consume 2,500-3,000 calories every day to gain weight. When the film was over, I wasn’t training as much, But I was still doing 3,000 calories because I was used to it,” he said on actor Rhea Chakraborty’s podcast Chapter 2.
He talked about the changes in his daily routine that made him “unfit” and “unhealthy”. Fatima said, “Food became my place of comfort. I could eat non-stop for hours. I hate myself because I have no control. I work at extremes. Just a few days ago, I kept eating for two hours. Then I went to the point of starvation. It was so disabling that I was not leaving the house.”
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The actress revealed that she struggled with bulimia for two years. She said, “My understanding of diet was so rigid that I had to consume only so many calories a day. Even now, I think about food all the time. I’m always hungry. But I’ve gained awareness because that unhealthy relationship has been changing over the years.”
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Fatima also recalled how her friend and Dangal co-star Sanya Malhotra had confronted her about her habits and told her about her unhealthy relationship with food. He thanked another friend, screenwriter Rahul Modi, for helping him adopt healthy habits.
She also criticized Instagram and social media for pushing the idea of ​​starvation-based beauty standards. “Overeating is not the problem. The problem is within you because you are insecure and eating your emotions. You just want to numb. It’s like the apocalypse – you feel nauseous by the end of it,” she said, “Whenever someone has a mental health disorder, everything seems fine on the outside. All the demons and dark thoughts are within you, and you’re the one dealing with them.”
Along with her eating disorder, Fatima revealed that she also struggles with epilepsy. He mentioned an incident where symptoms were triggered by exposure to bright light. “I didn’t know epilepsy was such a challenge in daily life. I thought you just get a few episodes and you can’t work for a few days,” the 33-year-old said.
She now takes the medication regularly, although she initially resisted it. “I thought there’s nothing wrong with me. Why are you giving me crazy drugs? Because the association is that if someone has epilepsy, they’re addicted or using drugs or seeking attention. I don’t feel bad for myself, but people who lack empathy can understand that it’s a condition.”
Fatima said that although her colleagues have been supportive, anxiety remains: “This is my life now. People who work with me know about it and they have no problems. My world has been very accepting. But it gives me a lot of anxiety, especially at first, because I used to think what if an episode happens in front of the paparazzi?”
On the work front, the actress will next be seen in Gustak Ishq opposite Vijay Varma. Produced by Manish Malhotra, the film also stars Naseeruddin Shah and Sharib Hashmi and will release on November 21.