Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia talks about her brain burnout: People thought my personal life triggered it

Back in March 2021, actor Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia took a 40-day break from her TV show and resumed work after she was mentally healthier. Her hiatus from her debut show, Chhoti Sardarni, mid-way to focus on her mental health was termed as a bold move a newcomer by people in the industry.

Kaur remembers the confusion everyone around her had concerning her situation. “Most people didn’t understand what was happening. There is a certain lack of education attached to mental health. We all know of terms like anxiety and depression. I was diagnosed with brain burnout. Everyone was highly confused about what that is. They were throwing assumptions like something was wrong in my personal life and that is why it was triggering,” she recalls.

Talking about that difficult time, Kaur says, “When I took the sabbatical, it was something forced (upon me). I didn’t have an option. The doctors told me I was in no condition to work. It was not more of a choice than a necessity.”

Kaur explains, adding, “I’m not someone who shies away from hard work. When you come from a middle-class family, it’s in your DNA to work hard. (But) your identity just cannot be your work. You cannot become a machine or puppet who works on a loop.”

Currently in the US meeting her brother after her show, Chhoti Sardarni, wrapped up in June this year, Kaur admits that even for her it was difficult to comprehend. “It was a process for me to understand (it). When I would sit with my psychiatrist, I would share what I was feeling, and he would explain it to me, and then I started reading about it. I realised many have faced this situation at one point in their lives,” she states.

Kaur, however, shared her mental health journey with her fans through social media, not worrying once about her image. “It’s very important, to be honest with things. People label anyway. You don’t mind or you become immune to it when you know you are honest about your craft. I felt I should be honest with my fans who connect with me. They should also know the downhills and the speed breakers that come along my way,” she ends.