Archana Puran Singh’s son Aaryamann opens up about battling depression, facing racism and more; says, “I had panic and anxiety attacks”

Archana Puran Singh and her son Aaryamann keep fans posted about their personal and professional lives through their YouTube vlogs. In a recent vlog, Aaryamann opened up about a tough phase of his life. He recalled the time he went abroad to fulfil his dream and faced racism there. He also opened up about his injury and how he slipped into depression.






Talking about leaving the country to fulfil his dreams, he shared, “The tough part was leaving home, and I only decided that I wanted to leave home and play football in England, and you guys made it happen. I left home when I was 14 years old. I stayed there for three weeks and just as I settled in, I broke my leg. Then it became very difficult for me. Then I came back to India, and I was in the hospital, got crutches, and had surgery done.”


He further shared, “I went there again the next year and it was 10th standard, so I had to also study hard. I was not playing properly because I was still recovering from my surgery. To see everyone around me grow faster and stronger at the age when people are supposed to do that, I was going backwards. I was not able to catch up.”




Talking about his injury, he said, “It was not a moment. It was a slow realisation; my dream kept breaking. That was tough to deal with. And because of that stress, I had eczema on my skin all over. I used to cry a lot, and I would cry even on the pitch because people would look at me and think, ‘How did he come here?’ But I used to play very well before the injury.”


He later added, “I also experienced racism, but I didn’t care about it because you guys made me confident in myself. Once a guy told me, ‘You came on a donkey to train?’ I told him, ‘Yeah, the donkey has a Mercedes sign. What are you going to do about it?’”


Aaryamann shared how he slipped into depression when he had to quit football. He mentioned, “With that dream going away, I got into depression. I still deal with depression. I had panic attacks, anxiety attacks, my hands would shake. I have had bouts of depression so severe that I would not even come out of my room, and I would stay there all day. London was tough on me. Reassurance doesn’t help in depression; only spending time with that person does, and you all spent time with me. Mom has been the most supportive.”