Kuala Lumpur — Things have not been easy for 31-year-old actress Inessa Irdayanty ever since her mother, veteran actress Azean Irdawaty passed away eight years ago, and she also lost her brother, actor Benjy Ibrahim in July.
The actress revealed during an Instagram video that she suffered from bouts of depression and had “never stopped crying” since her mother left her.
“I’m not strong, I’ve never been. Anyone close to me would know I cry a lot,” said Inessa in her video.
“When Mama passed, everyone said ‘stay strong’ but I could not. I just do what I need to do even when I have no idea how to do it.”
During an interview about her brother’s death, a journalist asked Inessa about how she was feeling and she simply did not know what to answer, reported New Straits Times.
“Another question was, ‘how do you find peace in all the challenges you go through all these years?'”
“To be honest, from my prayers, and that’s all I know how to do, for that gives me faith that things will work out,” explained Inessa.
The actress counts her blessings and has received hundreds of messages of support from social media friends. An anonymous person called Inessa her “silent hero” because reading her story inspired her to continue living.
“She has been going through a similar situation and was on the brink of giving up.”
It took Inessa a year and a half to slowly heal after losing her mother.
“What’s amazing is that I didn’t know I was depressed until years later when I attended a talk on mental health and ticked every single symptom that the speaker listed for depression.”
The actress said that focusing on her work took her mind away from the sadness of losing Azean and Benjy.
Azean died of cancer at the age of 63 on Dec 17, 2013, while Benjy, 42, died of asthma on Jul 11.
Inessa is the youngest of Azean’s three children. She also has an elder sister, 34-year-old actress Elza Irdalynna. /TISG