Fatima Sana Shaikh's struggle with epilepsy and bulimia: What are these conditions, and how they affect daily life
ETimes November 19, 2025 05:39 PM
Bollywood actor Fatima Sana Shaikh has recently opened up about her long-hidden struggles with two very serious health conditions: epilepsy and bulimia nervosa. In a heartfelt conversation on Rhea Chakraborty’s podcast and through interviews with major publications, she has shared how these conditions started, what they feel like, and how they continue to influence her life.
What Fatima said
Fatima Sana Shaikh, known for her powerful performances in films like Dangal, Ludo, Sam Bahadur, Metro In Dino, recently revealed that both of her health conditions emerged during a transformative phase in her life — particularly after her intense physical transformation for Dangal.
How it started: The Dangal transformation
Shaikh revealed that her struggles began during the shooting of Dangal, when she had to gain significant weight for her role. She trained intensely — three hours a day — and consumed roughly 2,500–3,000 calories daily to bulk up. But once the film ended, her routine collapsed — her food intake stayed high, but she was no longer burning as many calories. That sudden shift became emotionally destabilizing.
Over time, for Fatima, food turned into a coping mechanism. She described it as her “comfort space,” where she could eat continuously for hours. She admitted she “operates in extremes” — one day she would binge, the next she would starve.
Bulimia
Fatima revealed that she lived with bulimia for nearly two years.
What exactly is bulimia?
Bulimia nervosa, or bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge-eating episodes followed by “purging” behaviors — such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, or excessive fasting or exercise. People with bulimia often feel out of control during a binge and then deeply guilty or ashamed afterward.
This condition often stays hidden because people with bulimia may appear to have a normal or even healthy body weight. But the mental and physical toll can be severe. Repeated purging can damage the throat, teeth, and digestive system. Bulimia is also linked to emotional issues like low self-esteem, anxiety, and mood swings.
Fatima’s wake-up call came when her Dangal co-star Sanya Malhotra confronted her about her erratic eating. Fatima says that confrontation made her reflect on how damaging her habits were — mentally and physically. Shaikh also shared that screenwriter Rahul Mody helped her build healthier routines and gradually break free from extreme cycles.
Even today, she admits that thoughts of food are always there. But instead of shame, she tries to frame her choices with compassion: “There are days now that I binge … but I don’t feel guilty. I chose it.” According to her, the root problem was not just overeating — it was deep emotional insecurity. “You just want to be numb,” she says, comparing her behavior to “doomscrolling” on social media.
Epilepsy
Alongside her struggle with food, Fatima has been managing epilepsy, a serious neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures.
What is epilepsy ?
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder marked by repeated, unprovoked seizures. During a seizure, abnormal electrical activity in the brain causes sudden, unpredictable symptoms: stiff or jerking muscles, loss of awareness, confusion, or even convulsions. There are different types of seizures — some are very mild, others more dramatic.
Living with epilepsy means dealing with uncertainty. Even when medications help, people may worry about triggers: flashing lights, stress, sleep deprivation, or missing medicine doses can all spark seizures.
Beyond the physical symptoms, epilepsy also affects mental health. Depression, anxiety, and social isolation are more common among people with epilepsy, often because of the stress of managing a chronic condition.
Fatima revealed that she was diagnosed with it during the Dangal shoot. Initially, she resisted taking medication, saying she didn’t accept that something was “wrong.” Her fear was rooted in stigma — she worried people would think she was “possessed,” on drugs, or unstable.
However, the turning point came when she suffered a terrifying seizure mid-flight on a trip to the US via Dubai. According to her, the medical team gave her a high dose of sedatives to control the episode, leaving her feeling completely “drugged out.” She was hospitalized, and the incident forced her to confront not just her condition, but the real dangers it posed.
Living with bulimia and epilepsy
It goes without saying, living with serious health conditions — especially for someone who is in the limelight constantly for her profession — is hard.
As per Fatima, living with epilepsy is more than occasional seizures. She admits to anxiety over “what if an episode happens in front of the paparazzi.” In her early career, she says she avoided certain public events or photo shoots for fear of triggering an attack. Now, she takes medication regularly, but that journey was difficult — she feared being judged and misunderstood.
The combined experience of epilepsy and bulimia has cost Fatima not just her peace of mind, but also “years she lost,” as she puts it. Shaikh acknowledges that mental health can often hide behind polished exteriors: “Everything seems fine on the outside … All the demons and dark thoughts are within you.”
What’s the takeaway?
Shaikh’s confession about her journey with epilepsy and bulimia isn’t just a matter of a candid chat — her story shines a light on two conditions that many people silently battle. Neither is a “choice” — both require understanding, compassion, and medical care. Fatima’s story is a wake-up call to reduce stigma around these two health conditions, showing that even successful public figures can face serious health challenges, and how important it is to seek help for timely interventions and treatments.
