Director Zoya Akhtar has opened up about her first panic attack and how she sought help to overcome it.
Zoya, the elder child of veteran screenwriter Javed Akhtar and filmmaker Honey Irani, wrote a lengthy post on Facebook for Humans of Bombay, a group which shares stories from the everyday lives of the people of Mumbai.
"My biggest challenge was when I had my first panic attack at 27. It's not something you can ignore, you can't sit around and get sucked into a rabbit hole. I chose to get help immediately. It took a while to work things out but I am fine now," Zoya wrote.
"You realize you have to become aware of your inner monologue. The things you say to yourself. This raised my consciousness so it was vital to my growth, I would say," she added.
In the post, Zoya, the director of films such as "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" and "Dil Dhadakne Do", talked about her family, including brother Farhan Akhtar, with whom she shares a "great relationship".
"Pieces of my life, no matter how scattered, are being stitched together and reflect in my work. The biggest piece is my family -- from watching films like The Godfather on our dining room wall, to having a great relationship with my sibling. Or going on weekend trips with our cousins to the beach and eating all day it's been a crazy childhood; a 'bohemian one'," Zoya said.
The 45-year-old director also revealed that her "love for the arts started at home".
"The conversations my parents had about films were obviously more in depth than the average audience. Screenplay, performances, lighting, shot-taking. And before you know my brother and me were looking at films slightly differently."
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