Actress Sana Saeed has publicly disclosed her years-long struggle with bulimia, an eating disorder, sharing an emotional account of growing up without the language or awareness to understand what she was experiencing. The revelation, made through a video and written note on social media, has drawn widespread attention to the silent burden many carry without diagnosis or support.

Growing Up Without a Name for It

Saeed described how, as a child, she lived with intense anxiety around food — hiding her eating habits and fearing judgment — without ever knowing a clinical term existed for what she was going through. 'I cannot constantly want to hide and eat or be worried that he'll enter my room and think that I'm overeating,' she recalled in the video. The absence of public conversation around eating disorders in her formative years meant she suffered in silence for a prolonged period.

It was only after reading about the condition that the pieces fell into place. 'I remember when I started reading the book, I was like… because you're so scared, you finally know what's the problem. And you don't want to face it. You've lived with it for so many years, you think something is absolutely wrong with you,' she said.

The Weight of Shame and Self-Admission

Even after identifying the disorder, Saeed said the process of admitting it — even privately — took years. 'I remember telling myself, "Okay, it's some sort of an eating disorder. But it's not this," because it was so difficult for me to admit to myself that I had bulimia. I never heard about it growing up. I wish I'd heard about it, so I would have gone straight to the problem,' she said.

In the accompanying written note, she elaborated: 'I didn't know I had an eating disorder for years. Not because I wasn't suffering, but because I had never heard the words. Growing up nobody talked about it. There was no language for what I was going through so I carried it silently and alone for a long time.'

A Message of Recovery and Hope

Saeed confirmed she has fully recovered and used her platform to reach others who may be in a similar position. 'When I finally read about bulimia I understood for the first time what was happening to me. And even then the shame of admitting it, even just to myself, took years to move through. I'm sharing this because somewhere out there someone is carrying something they don't even have a name for yet. And I want them to know, it has a name. You are not alone. And there is a way through,' she wrote.

She added: 'I am fully recovered and I have never felt more at home in my body or my life. If you are struggling, please reach out to someone you trust or look for eating disorder support in your region. You deserve real help from someone qualified to give it.'

From Child Star to Adult Comeback

Saeed first rose to national recognition as a child artist, playing Anjali — the daughter of characters portrayed by Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji — in the 1998 blockbuster 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'. She subsequently appeared in films including 'Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega' and 'Badal', before returning to the screen as an adult in director Karan Johar's 'Student of the Year' in 2012. She has also participated in reality formats such as 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa', 'Nach Baliye', and 'Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi'.

On the personal front, Saeed got engaged to entrepreneur Csaba Wagner in December 2023 during a proposal in Paris, and the couple married in an intimate ceremony in Goa in January 2025. She is currently based in the United States. Her disclosure is among the more candid accounts of eating disorder experience by a mainstream Indian celebrity, and is likely to amplify conversations around mental health and body image in the country.