New Delhi: Aamir Khan’s daughter Ira Khan has been open about her battle with clinical depression. She was diagnosed with depression more than five years ago and has emerged stronger. She also started Agastu Foundation to help those suffering from mental health problems. In a recent interview, she spoke about depression and how being part of a known family affected her mental health.
In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Ira shared how being from the family she is and being in the public eye affected her mental health. “Depression doesn’t have one cause. What you are brought up around will shape your personality. It would be silly to say that growing up in the family I grew up in, did not affect my state of mind. Every single thing that happened in my life, did. So yes, 100 percent being a part of the family I have has affected my mental health. In some ways, it has helped, and in some ways been unhelpful,” she was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Ira also revealed that she was diagnosed with cyclical depression. “I had a depressive episode in July 2022, and I found out about this. Cyclical means every few months, there is a big dip for me. Usually the dip lasts two weeks for me, then I do something which help me does something and so on. I get back to regular stuff. This one lasted for months. I go around championing everyone’s mental health, but have severe amount of stigma with my own. I was upset with myself. It took me long to get out of this one, and I finally joined Agastu in December,” Khan told Hindustan Times.
Ira also shared that though her family is supportive, they didn’t know how to support her initially. They took an effort to develop a clear communication between them.
Ira is the second child of Aamir and Reena. Ira recently got engaged to her long-time boyfriend Nupur Shikhare.