Ileana D'Cruz: I have understood that being kind to yourself doesn’t mean you are being selfish

Ileana D’Cruz took off to the US recently after being in Mumbai for over four months, throughout the lockdown. “My family is all scattered. While my father is in Goa, my sister is in Australia and my mother is in the US. It’s been eight months and I haven’t seen my family,” Ileana told BT. With Mumbai in the unlock mode, she recently flew to Houston to be with her mother.

For the actress, who’s been busy with work, the lockdown was a difficult phase. “The time was a lot more complicated for me. I had an interesting year, but I also had a fair bit of difficulties in my personal life,” says Ileana.

Last year, Ileana was in the news for her break-up with photographer-boyfriend Andrew Kneebone. During the lockdown, while she was alone in Mumbai, the actress continued with her therapy sessions. She elaborates, “I thought I needed it. You know doing it is great, but actually putting it to work (to practice it) is the hardest part. And you have to do it on your own. Honestly, for the first time in my life, I have reached a point where I know how I want to be, and how I can better myself as a person. Through the past four-five months, I have understood one thing, that you forget to be kind to yourself, and being kind to yourself does not mean you are being selfish.”

She further adds, “Overall, the therapy sessions have been beneficial. I got to know about what issues I am going through. It takes a while to undergo change. I feel that you can either sit in a well of self-pity and think, ‘Oh my life is miserable’, or you can work on it and do something about it. It is a good thing that people aren’t shunning therapy anymore.”