By Leaf Staff Writer Naomi Dunford https://xxnaomi.com
Until fairly recently, mental health issues have been the consistent target of stereotypes and stigmas, which have made it difficult for the people who suffer from these conditions to seek out the help they need.
As a result, far too many people who could benefit from therapy or medication don’t ask for it, fearing to be branded with a label they won’t be able to escape from.
Fortunately, the rise in celebrity culture and the ubiquity of social media have set the stage for a level of transparency and advocacy for all kinds of socially relevant issues – including mental health.
As people in the public eye make their own struggles with mental health a topic of conversation, they normalize not only the individual disorders they’re dealing with, but the topic of mental health itself. Gradually, it’s becoming more “ok” for everyday people to talk about the issues they’re suffering from, too.
Below are a collection of celebrities who are helping to destigmatize mental health issues through their brave, candid, and very personal admissions of their real-life challenges with conditions that affect people all over the globe.
Demi Lovato
Arguably one of the most vocal proponents of raising awareness for mental health issues, Demi Lovato continues to speak up through her platform, media interviews, and her documentaries Beyond Silence and Simply Complicated.
Publically talking about her own struggles with addiction, eating disorders, substance abuse and depression, she holds nothing back about the challenges, mistakes and regrets she has – and the importance of seeking help rather than hiding issues or trying to solve them alone.
She also has encouraged others to use their voice to help destigmatize mental health and seeking treatment, and has been a supporter of Be Vocal, an organization that serves to help “encourage others to advocate for themselves and their community” and offers a hotline and other resources that can help guide people to begin talking about what they need.
“There’s something about when you speak out and are vocal about your story, it’s very inviting to others who are dealing with the same thing,” Lovato says in an interview with Variety. “And if you can make that impact on somebody’s life, it does something for you spiritually that makes you want to tell the story again and again and again.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
On the outside, Dwayne Johnson may appear to be one of the strongest men on the planet, which makes it all the more meaningful that he has decided to be so open about the struggles with depression he’s experienced throughout his life.
In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Johnson talks about three significant depressive episodes that marked his life and the debilitating effects each of them had on his ability to thrive. And while he is a success now, it’s obviously been a rocky road on the way to stardom.
“I didn’t want to do a thing,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to go anywhere. I was crying constantly. Eventually you reach a point where you are all cried out.”
Johnson’s story is one of shattered dreams – early poverty, a football career derailed by injuries, and more – and he serves as a good example of never giving up.
“Depression never discriminates,” he says in an interview with Variety, referencing the difficulty many men have about acknowledging their tough feelings are signs of depression. “Took me a long time to realize it but the key is to not be afraid to open up. Especially us dudes have a tendency to keep it in. You’re not alone.”
Kendall Jenner
Instagram has been a platform Kendall Jenner has used to raise awareness for mental health issues, pairing up with designer Kenneth Cole and his Mental Health Coalition to ask people to share their struggles coping with lockdown during the pandemic.
Her #howareyoureallychallenge on Instagram has been a place for her and others to tell their stories in order to break down stigma and make it safer to talk about issues like depression, anxiety, long-term stress and a host of other disorders and conditions.
Kendall has been impacted by severe anxiety since she was very young, and even though she sought help at an early age, she wasn’t formally diagnosed until later. Plagued by “crazy panic attacks” and often finding it difficult to breathe, she struggled to not let it hold back her modeling career despite continued surges of anxiety.
“I have such debilitating anxiety because of everything going on that I literally wake up in the middle of the night with full-on panic attacks,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “It’s hard not to get eaten alive by all the negativity.”
Calling on friends and family on Instagram, she continues to urge people to keep mental health conversations going so that more people can raise their hands and get the help they need.
Zayn Malik
Former One Direction star and songwriter Zayn Malik is no stranger to the difficulties of mental health issues. A longtime sufferer of anxiety and an eating disorder, he opens up in his autobiography about how debilitating they have been throughout his career.
“I was done with putting out statements that masked what was really going on,” he writes in his book. “I wanted to tell the truth. Anxiety is nothing to be ashamed of; it affects millions of people every day. I know I have fans out there who have been through this kind of thing, too, and I wanted to be honest for their sake, if nothing else.”
Zayn, like Dwayne Johnson, also wants to open up conversation among men, who are less likely to seek help for mental health issues as a result of the cultural pressure to avoid vulnerability. “Guys on Twitter were telling me how anxiety had affected their lives,” he says, “and saying that they were glad I had spoken up. It felt as though some good had come from the situation.”
Zayn’s honesty and candid descriptions of his experiences with anxiety have provided a much-needed voice not only for others, but also for himself. Since his book was released, he has reported an easing of symptoms that he credits to finally telling the truth about everything that he was dealing with inside.
Lady Gaga
Suffering from PTSD and chronic pain, Lady Gaga has a deep understanding of how important it is to get the help and support you need to manage mental health issues.
“I’m on medication; I have several doctors. This is how I survive,” she says in an interview with Oprah for Elle Magazine.
She’s long used her platform to talk about her particular challenges in detail, encouraging listeners to not only seek out the help they need, but to support others in doing so as well.
“I would also beckon to anyone to try, when they feel ready, to ask for help,” she tells Oprah. “And I would beckon to others that if they see someone suffering, to approach them and say, ‘Hey, I see you. I see that you’re suffering, and I’m here. Tell me your story.’”