Staying indoors for so long has taken a toll on my mental health: Shraddha Das

The last couple of months have been extremely hard on Shraddha Das. The actress, who had tested positive for COVID-19 at the start of April had recovered from the virus after a “mentally draining” quarantine period. But as soon as she got better, her dog, Two, got sick. By the time her dog made a full recovery, a lockdown was imposed and

Shraddha

says it’s frustrating to stay cooped up indoors without doing anything and living in constant fear of the virus.

“The last few weeks have been the biggest test of my emotional and mental strength. I had a very long battle with

COVID

early in April. I had high fever and severe fatigue. Soon after I recovered, my dog fell sick and it was really hard for me to see an ever-cheerful and naughty dog looking so low. As a pet parent, watching my dog in pain was harder than going through COVID,” says the Arya 2 actress.

Shraddha, who has been living in Mumbai with her four dogs — One, Two, July and August — says the lockdown has been particularly hard on her. “Usually, whenever I’m feeling low, I go out for walks or meet friends. Now we can’t do that either. So there’s practically no escape for you. You just have to find a way to deal with it,” she says, adding, “I’ve tried multiple ways of dealing with it. I’ve been trying to stay calm mentally with yoga, meditation and reading books. I also introduced myself to online games, which has given me temporary relief. The fact that it’s tough for everyone is a little reassuring in a way. I keep telling myself, ‘You’re not the only one going through this.’ I hope we can collectively get better and get out of this phase.”

Shraddha, who’s recently featured in films like

PSV Garuda Vega

and

Hippi

, says she’s looking forward to travelling and living freely once the pandemic is over. “Once all this ends, I just want to travel and live my life the way I want to. Who knows, there must be another pandemic waiting to happen. One thing this crisis has taught us is to not worry about the future and make the most of the present,” she adds.