As Pakistan’s onscreen narrative shifts, celebrities open up about nervousness, melancholy and survival
KARACHI:
In a tradition lengthy conditioned to disguise ache behind well mannered smiles and whispered prayers, Pakistani celebrities are starting to talk overtly about melancholy, nervousness and emotional collapseturning non-public struggling into public dialog, and slowly dismantling a stigma that has shadowed generations.
For years, psychological well being in Pakistan was a subject mentioned in hushed tones or quietly swept below the rug. Celebrities — significantly girls — have been anticipated to radiate composure and style, regardless of the private value.
The closest glimpse audiences obtained of vulnerability was a obscure “stress tha” [it was stress] or “powerful time”. At the moment, that narrative is shifting — for each women and men.
Throughout platforms corresponding to podcasts and Instagram posts, celebrities are naming what was as soon as unspeakable: postpartum melancholy, panic assaults, nervousness, ADHD and long-term antidepressant use.
Sarwat Gilani’s confession on Nida Yasir’s morning present final 12 months shocked some however comforted many moms. Sharing her expertise with postpartum melancholy, she revealed the uncooked reality behind motherhood. After her third baby — whom she met 4 days after giving start attributable to surgical problems — she went by means of a deeply horrifying interval.
She confessed to having intrusive darkish ideas which left her feeling responsible and remoted. Her husband recognised the situation as postpartum melancholy and supported her by means of it.
For a society that glorifies maternal sacrifice, naming the psychological sickness behind it marked a major shift in media discourse.
Equally, Mahira Khan, in a resurfaced podcast with Frieha Altaf, spoke about her long-term wrestle with antidepressants. She disclosed that she has been on treatment for six to seven years, including that stopping them prematurely plunged her right into a “very, very darkish gap”.
Past prayers or mates, one thing merely was not okay. She needed to normalise treatment as therapy, not weak spot.
Nausheen Shah has additionally spoken about experiencing panic assaults whereas filming on set. Uncontrollable shivering and extreme nervousness left her feeling “like a zombie”, forcing her to query whether or not she would ever really feel regular once more.
In the meantime, Saba Qamar revealed that years of internalised stress manifested bodily in a coronary heart assault final 12 months. “Jo aap andar retailer kar rahe ho, wo aik din nervousness ki type mein aa jaayega” [whatever you have been storing inside, someday it comes out in the form of anxiety], she mentioned.
The dialog is just not restricted to girls. Actor Shehryar Munawar has inspired males to hunt remedy, stating that “typically issues might be very overwhelming… it is okay to ask for assist”.
He framed remedy as a course of relatively than a one-time repair, evaluating it to purchasing. “The primary pair of denims is just not going to suit,” he defined, difficult the long-standing expectation that males should stay stoic.
Showing on Gup Shup with Fuchsia, Mawra Hocane — who not too long ago married her co-star Ameer Gilani — has been addressing misconceptions surrounding marriage and psychological well being.
She rejected the concept that a romantic companion can ‘full’ her, saying as a substitute, “A cheerful marriage is a cherry on prime”, emphasising that self esteem and emotional wellbeing are private tasks.
Social media platforms together with Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are amplifying this new honesty.
Reham Rafiq, a dancer and content material creator, has posted from hospital rooms to lift consciousness for caregivers and households coping with psychological well being struggles.
Her content material highlights nervousness, melancholy and ADHD, displaying that consciousness not must go by means of conventional media. By sharing on a regular basis challenges, she affords relatability to followers navigating comparable battles in isolation.
The dialog continues to evolve, and one factor is obvious: psychological well being is lastly receiving the language and visibility it deserves.
New Pakistani dramas, together with Case No.9 and Kafeel, are additionally difficult norms round melancholy, panic assaults, suicide, sexual harassment and abusive households — reflecting a broader cultural reckoning that’s lengthy overdue.
