In honour of World Mental Health Day, celebrities like; Selena Gomez, Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson and many others have shared their personal experiences on dealing with mental health to show support to others struggling with it.
Notorious personalities have been vocal about the fact that despite having a seemingly perfect life, they have had their struggles with depression and self-esteem.
Selena Gomez
During the podcast Making Space With Hoda Kotb, the Taki Taki singer, Selena Gomez shared, “I feel like it is baby steps, but they’re very hard to see. So my advice would be to hold on during those rough moments because there is moments of peace, and I would just cherish them when they would happen.
For the unversed, Gomez as a philanthropist also works with charitable organisations to advocate prioritising mental health.
Discussing her experiences, she opened up about her diagnoses with Lupus and Bipolar disorder.
“I’m not better or worse than anyone. I’m simply just a person living and surviving every day, having to take steps to make yourself healthy takes a lot of work, and people are scared of titles or being defined. So it is every day, but I enjoy every day too.” Selena added.
Ryan Reynolds
Deadpool superhero, Ryan Reynolds shared also shared his experience of dealing with anxiety.
Referring to the anxiety issues he faced, Rynold on The Late Show with David Letterman, confessed, “I remember I’d be standing backstage before the curtain would open, and I would think to myself, ‘I’m gonna die. I’m literally gonna die here.”
“The curtain’s gonna open and … I’m just gonna be a symphony of vomit – just, like, something horrible’s gonna happen!,” he added.
Billie Eilish
Grammy winner Billie Eilish has never been reticent about her struggles with depression. Conversing with Vogue, she said “When people ask me what I’d say to somebody looking for advice on mental health, the only thing I can say is patience.”
“I had patience with myself. I didn’t take that last step. I waited. Things fade.”
Dwayne Johnson
Moreover, Dwayne Johnson, also known as the rock appeared on The Pivot Podcast and put his mental health journey into words. He revealed suffering depression three times.
“I’ve gone through two, three bouts of depression over the course of years, and the football one for me was a big one.”
“Going through such anxiety while in college had to be challenging, especially considering The Rock didn’t know what depression was at the time.” The Rock admitted.
Katy Perry
Furthermore, during pandemic Firework’s Katy Perry also shared having a hand battling depression.
Taking it to Twitter, she wrote “Sometimes I don’t know what’s worse trying to avoid the virus or the waves of depression that come with this new norm.”
“There is not really anywhere to go besides my car. So I go to my car a lot. That is my safe space.”
World Mental Health Day is celebrated on October 10th every year to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.