Juhi Chakraborty (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 25, 2020)

Like many others around the world, actor Mandira Bedi, too, is cooped up inside her home amid the Covid-19 crisis. She reveals that she had a brief anxiety attack a few days back because of all the negativity with regards to the present situation.

“I was in Australia for the women’s cricket World Cup and came in on March 9. I was in self-isolation and have been counting the days because the symptoms take 14 days to show. I have been so anxious, nervous and fearful that I actually did work myself up to get an asthma attack out of anxiety,” shares Bedi.

The 47-year-old urges people to stay positive during these times and advises them to stay away from rumours, citing how her attack was a result of that.

“The day I got my attack, I worked myself into a frenzy to get into that space. The night before the incident, the last thing I saw was a video of someone coughing and people not taking it seriously. It was so negative and depressing. The next morning I woke up at 5.30am in a total state of panic,” she says.

Bedi says she is now focusing on just being positive about the situation and wants people to not feel dejected. “I just want people to know that whatever they are going through is real but it is okay. The only thing to now do is to just be positive,” muses Bedi, while adding a tip or two about what one can do at home.

“Have a routine. Use your time to exercise. I am putting a lot of home workout videos because that is what is keeping me going. Besides, I am also home schooling my son (Vir),” adds the actor.

While socialising is out of question, Bedi says she and her husband, Raj Kaushal, have devised a unique way to keep in touch with friends. “What we do is we open a bottle of wine and then we video call our friends and we raise a toast together. Few days ago, I also celebrated my mother’s birthday on video,” she says.