Call Me Kat: Mayim Bialik stars in Fox trailer
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Long running co-stars Kunal Nayyar and Mayim Bialik have reunited nearly two years after The Big Bang Theory came to an end in 2019. Best known for portraying Raj Koothrapali on the CBS sitcom for over a decade, Nayyar appeared on Bialik’s new weekly podcast, Breakdown, to chat with his experiences with stress and anxiety over the years.
Former Big Bang Theory star Kunal Nayyar has opened up about his struggles with mental health on Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown podcast on YouTube.
Best known for portraying Raj Koothrappali and Amy Farrah Fowler, respectively, Nayyar chatted openly with Bialik about some of his worst experiences with anxiety.
He explained: “When I began to struggle mentally, when I began to have those dark episodes, that was very shocking to me.”
Nayyar, 39, admitted to having his first panic attack when he was 30, around the time Big Bang would have been in its fifth season.
He recalled: “I didn’t know what that was. Ever since then I’ve had to fight some kind of battle with panic or anxiety.”
His co-star replied assuringly: “That’s actually a great way to define a panic attack – you don’t know what it is.”
Going into more detail, Nayyar explained the incident was especially challenging as he had been driving on the highway with passengers at the time.
He went on: “I just went, ‘Oh there’s lots of traffic ahead’, because I was just embarrassed.”
“I’m having this full-blown panic attack inside, now I’m getting embarrassed so I’m pulling off [the highway] and joking.”
Nayyar’s experience left a significant impact, as he revealed the panic attack put him off driving for some time.
He added: “It got so bad I couldn’t even look at my car keys without feeling panic, and then I knew something was wrong.”
Following his tough experience behind the wheel, Nayyar eventually built back his confidence by seeing a hypnotherapist.
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However, while he was able to remedy the anxiety he felt whilst driving, he found he was now experiencing similar stress in lifts.
He explained: “Then, it became like the highway again, and that’s when I said, ‘Something’s wrong’. That was five years into therapy.”
As Nayyar and Bialik’s conversation started to wrap up, he added: “You can have a beautiful, spiritual life and at some point still feel anxious, still at some point feel sad and depressed and panicky.
“There’s no shame in that, there’s no shame in feeling anxious, there’s no shame in feeling stress, there’s no shame at feeling panic.”
Kunal Nayyar was the seventh guest on Bialik’s new podcast, which has been releasing new episodes each week since January.
Other interviewees include The Big Bang Theory’s creator Bill Prady, as well as fellow co-star John Ross Bowie.
Meanwhile, Nayyar recently received critical acclaim for his performance in the British anthology series Criminal, and appeared in the films Trolls World Tour and Think Like a Dog.
The Big Bang Theory is available to stream on Netflix.
For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123 or visit a local Samaritans branch.
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