Taapsee Pannu on trolling, anxiety and why she stepped back
The actor says trolling still gets to her, social media pushes stars to perform as brands, and therapy helped her stop running from anxiety.
Taapsee Pannu has a simple answer for anyone who expects a star to call trolling a lesson in self-worth: she will not. In a conversation published on World Mental Health Day, the actor said she once treated mental health support as something needed only in extreme situations, then learned it is also about staying present and at peace.
That shift did not happen overnight. For years, she said, she avoided anxiety by filling up on work, sport and activity. Covid removed that escape route. “I was forced to spend time with myself and realised I need to take care of my mental health better,” she said.
Therapy without the taboo
Taapsee said she believed earlier that therapy was only for clinical depression or when someone could not express what they were feeling. Lockdown changed that. The characters she plays are mentally exhausting, and travelling after a shoot used to be her way to switch off. When travel disappeared, she had to sit with discomfort. She took therapy sessions to learn how to deal with herself instead of running away.
The actor is glad the conversation has become less taboo, but she is careful not to make trolling sound noble. “I’m not going to romanticise it with fancy lines about knowing your self worth,” she said. For actors, she explained, public perception is not separate from the job—it shapes it.
Why she chose silence over performance
Taapsee said the early trolling hit hard, both for her career and when she joined social media. She spent years trying to make everyone happy and got burnt out. “I realised I wasted years trying to appease trolls rather than spending that time working on myself as an actor or human being,” she said. Sometimes, the comments still affect her.
Social media has made actors more vulnerable to anxiety and comparison, she added. When people debate why a star gets work, the pressure pushes actors to perform the persona that sells rather than show their real self. In her words: “You aren’t connecting with a human being but a brand.”
That is why she stepped back. Faced with being dishonest online or being mentally battered, she chose to be less active. For fans, the takeaway is practical:
- A celebrity’s distance from social media may be a boundary, not arrogance.
- Online pile-ons have a real mental health cost, even for stars who seem strong.
- Therapy is not only for crisis; it can be about staying present and at peace.
The actor’s candour is a reminder that visibility does not equal immunity—and that logging off can be a legitimate form of self-protection.
Source: Hindustan Times
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