Badshah tells Shilpa Shetty he had sleep apnea, adds ‘I have been through clinical depression and anxiety disorder’

Badshah has opened up on his struggles with clinical depression and anxiety disorder and revealed that he also suffered from sleep apnea. He was speaking on Shilpa Shetty’s new fitness chat show, Shape of You. (Also read: Badshah, Shilpa recreate a scene from her film Dhadkan with a funny twist. Watch)

Badshah told Shilpa, “The priority of my life is mental health. Mental peace is a luxury for me, because of the pressure we feel everyday. I have been through the darkest of times. When it comes to my mental health, I have been through clinical depression, I have been through severe anxiety disorder. So, I know I do not want to go there (again). And, to avoid that, you have to be selfish in a good way. You have to live with people who make you happy, you have to learn to say no. You have to learn to say yes, you have to be happy, we live under a lot of pressure. We have made our own lives messy and then we complain we are not mentally fit. You need to organise things, keep your loved ones near you and that is it.”

Talking about the motivation for his weight loss, Badshah said, “Now it is all about staying healthy. I had many reasons for losing weight. We did no shows during the lockdown. And, then the shows opened up suddenly. When I went up on the stage, I realised I do not have the stamina. My work requires me to be active for 120 minutes or so when performing on the stage. I did not have the stamina, I started panting in just 15 minutes. As a performer, I have to give my best. That was a major reason. Another reason was that I suffered from sleep apnea. That got more intense with time, and it is dangerous. For people who do not know, sleep apnea is a major snoring problem. I had the problem, now it is not there.”

Badshah and Shilpa work together on the TV show, India’s Got Talent. They are both on the judges’ panel alongwith Kirron Kher.