Dhurandhar singer Jasmine Sandlas speaks out about alcoholism (Source : Instagram/Gulabi queen)Singer Jasmine Sandlas has been enjoying the success of Dhurandhar, The Revenge. She worked on a music project composed by Shashwat Sasdev. She also shared a personal side of her life in a podcast interview with Ranveer Allahbadia. Childhood and discovering myself as a young girl. Growing up as a woman and as an artist. Eldest daughter. Child of immigrants. Punjabi. American. On my journey, I’ve seen and experienced a lot of things that weren’t easy. It wasn’t comfortable, was it? Let’s be honest sometimes. On one side, everything and traumas from family members. Everything. I used to be very mischievous. The quest for adventure. I used to run in the streets. I used to make mistakes in class and at school. I was a good student and a good child. But I had no interest in studies. Where is the fun? I used to ask myself. Where is my enjoyment?”Reflecting on when she had her first drink, Sandlas shared, “I think. I used to not drink. In America, the drinking age is 21. I didn’t start drinking until then. I was probably 22 or 23. I didn’t drink. I abstained because drinking was going on in my home. My father used to be a drinker. When you have a drinking father, two things can happen. Either you are an alcoholic. Or you say, “I can’t drink.” It’s the worst. I did both. Alcohol is bad. Alcohol is bad. It’s not good. She continued, “When you are really hit by life, you seek some kind of support. I regret some of the things I did in those 2-3 years… I was famous, I felt certain things, family dynamics were broken, my father had died, and I was very successful. I drank a lot more than I should have. I regret it. But it was important to me at the time. There is resentment because they broke my heart many times without knowing it. I love them but a child’s broken heart will remain broken. I did that all my life, just yearning and finding home.” ButStory continues below this adBut how do unresolved childhood experiences shape coping behaviours like substance use in adulthood? I did that my whole life, just searching for home.” ButStory continues below the adBut, how do unresolved experiences in childhood shape coping behaviors like substance abuse in adulthood? Neha Cadabam is a senior psychologist and executive Director at Cadabam’s Hospitals. She tells indianexpress.com: “Unresolved experiences in childhood often shape how individuals regulate stress and emotions in later life.” When emotional safety and stable attachment are missing during formative childhood, the brain tends towards emotional dysregulation or heightened vigilance. Clinically, this is not a random behavior, but an adaptive response which has continued, even if over time it has become maladaptive. Practical steps to build internal security and healthier support networksThe search for a feeling of home externally can often point to an internal gap. Cadabam explains, “Clinically, the focus shifts from strengthening external anchors to strengthening internal ones.” This includes developing self-awareness through reflective practices, establishing consistent routines that create predictability, and engaging in therapy to process unresolved emotional experiences.”Building healthier support systems also means cultivating relationships that are stable, nontransactional, and emotionally safe, rather than those driven by dependency or validation seeking. Cadabam concludes that this process helps people to stop seeking security from outside and start experiencing it inside.
