Priyanka Chopra has discussed how she overcame a period of depression after her father, Ashok, died in 2013 aged 64 following a long battle with cancer.
Talking on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, the actress, 38, admitted that therapy didn’t work for her at the time and she had to force herself to ‘step into the light’ instead of being ‘comfortable in the darkness’.
Priyanka also revealed that her life priorities have now ‘shifted’ since entering her 30s, after spending years focused on her work, and insisted how important ‘balance’ is in her marriage to Nick Jonas.
Sad: Priyanka Chopra has discussed how she overcame a period of depression after her father, Ashok, died in 2013 aged 64 following a long battle with cancer (pictured in 2010)
Speaking to Fearne about her period of depression after her father died in 2013, the actress said: ‘That’s what I felt, I feel like my fear is always being stuck. I find wiggle room and movement, I don’t like being stuck in anything outside of my control.
‘I like being in control. When you’re in an instance when you’re not in control, that was the only thing I knew. I tried therapy, it didn’t work for me at that point. I didn’t think medication was an option.
‘I didn’t want to be stuck, I don’t know how it started, I just remember feeling sorry for myself. Sitting on the couch, like the fifth month in, watching TV and eating pizza like for hours. Feeling like a glutton, not good about myself.
‘It started by just going to take the dog for a walk, it started like that, let’s get some fresh air. Then slowly I was like, “Oh, okay, that made me smile a little.” Going for a bath, sitting in the kitchen, I was still not going out with friends.
Candid: Talking on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, the actress, 38, admitted that therapy didn’t work for her at the time and she had to force herself to ‘step into the light’ instead of being ‘comfortable in the darkness’
Important: Priyanka also revealed that her life priorities have now ‘shifted’ since entering her 30s, after spending years focused on her work, and insisted how important ‘balance’ is in her marriage to Nick Jonas
‘I didn’t repeat routines, I got out of my routines. Shook the world up a little bit. I slowly started meeting friends, responding to people who wanted to meet me, I would meet for a drink, half an hour won’t make a difference.’
Reflecting on the time, Priyanka added: ‘It really started with stepping into the light instead of being comfortable in the darkness, which is very seductive.’
The actress, who has penned her new memoir Unfinished during the pandemic, also spoke about how her life priorities have shifted since entering her 30s.
Calling her 30s a ‘magical time’, as ‘you’re old enough to know better but young enough to still be stupid’, Priyanka said she is focused on creating memories.
Host: Speaking to Fearne (pictured) about her period of depression after her father died in 2013, the actress said: ‘I tried therapy, it didn’t work for me at that point. I didn’t think medication was an option.’
She said: ‘At a point, you have to choose. I’m putting this away. Having done this for 20 years now almost, the entertainment business, of course there was a time in my life where I lived and breathed everything was my career and that was all.
‘I would wake up in the morning and that’s all it was. I was building, then you reach a place where you feel a sense of confidence.
‘Priorities sort of shift, to me life and wellness and family and memories have become as crucial as a part as my ambition to me now. I used to put it on the back burner for a very long time.’
Talking about boundaries she puts up in her life, Priyanka said that she now doesn’t check her phone when she goes on holiday.
She said: ‘When I go on holiday, I will not look at my phone, I will deliberately put it away. I will create time, create memories, I’m really enjoy doing that. Investing in the good life, you know?’
Reflecting on the time, Priyanka added: ‘It really started with stepping into the light instead of being comfortable in the darkness, which is very seductive.’ (pictured with her late father in 2010)
Elsewhere during the chat, Priyanka spoke about her marriage to Nick, 28, after tying the knot in 2018.
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The actress insisted how important ‘balance’ is in a relationship and that people need to remember you are not the ‘same person’.
She said: ‘Be together, but not too close together, because even the pillars of a temple stand apart.
‘If you think about that, you have this beautiful, temple, a spiritual place but even the pillars, the foundation of it, stand away from each other but contribute to this glorious thing we are all enjoying.
‘That’s what I think marriage is and finding a balance in my relationship is. To be able to let the other person be themselves but yet expecting a certain sense of respect. Not being taken for granted, it has to work mutually.
Memoir: The actress, who has penned her new memoir Unfinished (pictured) during the pandemic, also spoke about how her life priorities have shifted since entering her 30s
‘It can’t be only one person expecting that from the other person, giving somebody else the sense of being who they want. Like being with your best friend, being whoever you want.
‘Without that expectation of what you should be, in a relationship, people are not the same person. You can’t expect the other person to behave the way you would behave because you’re not twins or siblings. You’re two different people who have joined together.
‘I think that’s important to understand, the other person may act or behave in a different way than I probably would have. Why is the other person reacting?
‘To know you have to be in your person’s corner, to know that taking for granted they would not deliberately hurt me. Instead of coming from a place of: “Why are you hurting me?”
Priyanka also discussed how her her parents, mother Madhu and late father Ashok, filled her with confidence from a young age, teaching her to have an opinion at just the age of four-years-old.
Marriage lessons: The actress insisted how important ‘balance’ is in a relationship and that people need to remember you are not the ‘same person’ (pictured in 2020)
While the star also admitted that she had to ‘pull herself out’ of the toxic world of social media as she got ‘sucked’ into reading negative comments about herself.
Priyanka is currently living in London with her husband Nick as she films her new movie Text For You.
During the podcast, the star revealed that she will be staying in the British capital for the next year although she is ‘sad’ at seeing it so empty due to lockdown.
Priyanka also revealed that the coronavirus pandemic has helped her to ‘slow down’ and ‘breathe’ although she is now busy back to work.
The star said that she wants to build time into her life where she sees family and friends when the crisis ends.
Priyanka’s interview comes after she recently admitted that she struggled with grief after her beloved father Ashok died in 2013.
The actress said that she ‘ran away’ from her parent’s death by accepting the leading role in 2014 biographical film Mary Kom just months after his passing.
On losing her dad, the former Miss World winner hailed him as her ‘rock’ and credited him for instilling ‘duty and discipline’ into her upbringing.
You can listen to the full interview on the latest episode of Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast.
‘I was running away from the fact that my dad died’: The media personality took on the leading role in 2014 biographical film Mary Kom (pictured) just months after his passing
Source: Daily Mail
