Nausheen Shah shares hard-won lessons from depression

Actor opens up about emotional paralysis and recovery

Nausheen Shah has spoken candidly about her battle with depression, describing a long and difficult period that kept her away from work and public life. In a recent appearance on Hasna Mana Hai, the actor discussed her mental health struggles and her decision to quietly step back from the entertainment industry.

Responding to host Tabish Hashmi's question about her absence from films, Shah explained that she had been dealing with severe depression that affected her ability to function. "My functionality was disturbed a lot. I could not eat, sleep or process things around me. I felt a strange fear, it was very dark. It is a miracle I got out of it," she said.

For Shah, the illness was not marked by sadness alone but by a profound emotional numbness. "You have normal emotions where you can feel happy, sad or excited, but if you feel depressed to the point that you cannot process any emotion and feel blank, then that's serious," she said. "That is the stage where it's important to refer to a doctor."

The experience, she recalled, left her disoriented and unable to engage with the world around her. "I would just nod to what the next person was saying, not really taking in what they are saying or feeling because of the chemical imbalances in my brain. I lost all functionality and couldn't explain the feeling to others either," she said. "It felt like a dark hole. I would be in bed for 60 to 70 days and I would get so worried if my mother even tried to leave my bedside."

Shah has previously spoken about her mental health—in 2019, she described a seven-year struggle with depression and anxiety. Her recent remarks offer a more detailed glimpse into what that period looked like, and how she eventually began to recover.

She also used the platform to encourage others to pay attention to their mental well-being. "If you feel happy or sad then that's normal. But if you come to a point where there is a happy or sad occasion and you just don't feel anything, then acknowledge it at that point," she said. "Seek professional help, it is very important. If you don't seek professional help and continue to self-treat, the condition can get worse."

Now on the other side of her darkest days, Shah is preparing to return to work. She will soon make her film debut as Chandni in the upcoming feature Jhol.