'We never heard of anxiety attacks', Jaya Bachchan’s comment sparks online debate

Anxiety is no longer just a trending buzzword but a daily battle for many, especially Gen Z, who are increasingly vocal about mental health in ways previous generations weren’t.

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The conversation reignited online after veteran actress Jaya Bachchan shared her take on the issue in a recent episode of granddaughter Navya Nanda’s podcast, What The Hell Navya.

Joined by her daughter Shweta Bachchan, the trio opened up about generational perspectives on anxiety. When Navya asked about it, Jaya candidly remarked,

“We hadn’t heard of an anxiety attack when we were kids. Even in our midlife, we didn’t hear of such things.”

She pointed fingers at social media, the constant need for validation, and information overload, saying,

“Too much information—how you should look, dress, or do your nails—feeds into anxiety.”

But her daughter Shweta disagreed, suggesting that mental health issues aren’t new—they just weren’t acknowledged before.

“I think anxiety was always there. It’s just more identifiable and spoken about now,” she said.

Navya chimed in, noting that awareness has made the topic more visible.

Their candid conversation sparked a storm on social media, with users taking sides—some echoing Jaya’s concerns about the pressures of digital life, while others applauded Shweta and Navya for normalising the mental health dialogue.