Sharifah Sakinah recently announced that she is planning to leave Malaysia for the sake of her mental health.
The usually cheerful actress dropped the bombshell on 18 March with a clip from her interview with "Hard to Heart" host Aznil Nawawi, in which she spoke about her struggles with depression and anxiety.
She explained, "Desperate times call for drastic measures. For the past couple of years my life has consisted of visits to different kind of doctors and therapists, lists of medications (including self medication) and I’ve been fumbling in darkness over my own actions. I’ve suffered from heavy depression, anxiety with self-harming behaviour and my world has sometimes been reduced to my room where I’ve spent days in bed without [getting] up."
Sakinah admitted that her anxiety and depression were sometimes so bad that she was afraid of what she would do if she didn't rely on her pills - stressing that she is the greatest danger to herself.
"Luckily I’ve had people around me that love me and that has supported me, not to do something I might later regret. I’ve prayed to God and my fitness and workout have helped me ventilate and to release a lot of my stress when my thoughts have been tumbling around. However, sometimes prayers isn’t enough and I’ve now realized I can’t do this fully on my own and I need a change of scenery, which is why I plan to leave Malaysia," she added.
Sakinah, who had previously spoken about taking a break from acting, stated that this is the real reason why she made her initial decision.
"I need a break and I need to focus on my own personal challenges so I hopefully can reach the paradigm shift I’m hoping for. My break doesn’t mean that this is the last you’ve seen from me. I love acting and I plan to come back stronger (and fitter) than ever."
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| Sakinah is engaged to marry fitness trainer Michael Hansen |
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| Sakinah also has a daughter, Anais from her previous marriage |