Image Source: OrissaPOST, Pinkvilla
Bella Hadid gets candid about her mental health struggles
In her recent interview with Wall Street Journal Magazine’s ‘My Monday Morning’ series, Bella Hadid spoke about her mental health challenged and described them as “excruciating and debilitating”. During her interview, she revealed that she hasn’t had a stylist in a long time and added maybe two years.
Bella shared that she was "in such a weird place mentally that it was really complicated for me to get out of the house and put an outfit together, especially with the anxiety of [paparazzi] being outside and all that”, when she was asked the secret to put an outfit together. Dwelling more about the fact that she now learning how to deal with her anxiety and other mental health struggles, Bella shared that she has now learned to embrace her fashion style and dress in a way that makes her feel comfortable and happy rather than looking glamorous for the cameras.
The model added, "In the last year, it was really important for me to learn that even if people talk about my style or if they like it or if they don't, it doesn't matter, because it's my style. When I leave the house in the morning, what I think about is: Does this make me happy? Do I feel good in this and do I feel comfortable?" In November 2021, Bella Hadid shared a couple of pictures of herself crying while sharing a recording of singer and friend Willow Smith talking about her insecurities and not feeling good enough. Bella captioned the post, "< @willowsmith > I Love you and your words. It made me feel a little less alone and that's why I'd like to post this.”
Bella added, "All humans are different, every single human has something so special and unique to offer. And people forget that everyone is basically feeling the same way: lost, confused, not really sure why they're here. That anxiety, like, everyone is feeling that- - and trying to cover it up in some way. We're gonna come together in our flaws. In our insecurities, in our joy, in our happiness, and accept it all as beautiful and natural.” She also revealed that she had suffered from extreme depression and anxiety for most of her teenage and adult life adding more, “My social anxiety was something that slowly crept up on me as I grew into my twenties. It got harder for me to go out without having one drink to calm my nerves, which made me not want to go out at all, so I was just hibernating between jobs. With a life that is constantly pushing a social regime, along with working 13 hour days, every single day, I knew this wasn’t a sustainable life for me.”
Talking about the post that she shared in November, Bella shared with WSJ. Magazine, "I would have really depressive episodes and my mom or my doctor would ask how I was and instead of having to respond in text, I would just send them a photo. It was the easiest thing for me to do at the time because I was never able to explain how I was feeling."
The model who has been open about her mental health added to the interview, "I would just be in excruciating and debilitating mental and physical pain, and I didn't know why. That was over the past three years. When I posted them it was to make sure that anybody that was feeling that way knew it was OK to feel that way. Even though on Instagram things look so beautiful, at the end of the day, we are all cut from the same cloth. I felt like it was just good for me to be able to speak my truth and at some point, I wasn't able to post nice pretty pictures anymore. I was over it."
During the interview, the model was asked to explain her current mental state which she explained is much better now but added that there are days where she feels that she has to struggle a little more than other days. Bella explained, "I do have good days. Today is a good day. My brain fog is feeling better, I don't feel depressed. I don't have as much anxiety as I usually do. But tomorrow I could wake up and [be] the complete opposite. That’s why I get overwhelmed. Going back to her Instagram post where she explained about her challenges, Bella said that opening up and putting it all out made her feel less lonely as a lot of people reached out to her via DMs and said ‘I feel that way too’.
"Walking outside, being able to remember there are so many people going through things and have similar patterns to me, it makes me feel better. I don't know if that's not what people want on Instagram, and that's fine. I don't have to be on Instagram forever. I feel like real is the new real, and that's what's important to me”, she added.
Bella Hadid shared that a lot of people reached out to her and said, 'I feel that way too'. Image Source: WSJ
In her November post, Bella also added that social media creates a lot of pressure for the people and they should know that it’s not real. “For anyone struggling, please remember that. Sometimes all you've gotta hear is that you're not alone. So from me to you, you're not alone. I love you, I see you, and I hear you. Self-help and mental illness/chemical imbalance are not linear and it is almost like a flowing rollercoaster of obstacles… it has its ups and downs, and side to sides. But I want you to know, there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and the rollercoaster always comes to a complete stop at some point.”, she added.
If you or someone you know need mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
