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When it comes to wellness, the topic of mental health, though still stigmatised, is slowly gaining popularity. With stars such as Beyoncé, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kerry Washington opening up about their struggles with depression and anxiety, many more people are able to speak up about mental health.
According to the World Health Organisation, one in four people suffer from mental illnesses. The statistics also show that more women than men are prone to suffer from anxiety and depression.
Bearing this in mind, it is only fitting that we seek to normalise mental health and make every effort to help those who are suffering from this illness.
Michelle Williams
On a post on Instagram, the artiste wrote: " 'You don’t look like you’ve been depressed to me!' That was a statement someone said to me. It almost made me feel guilty for doing the work to feel better, look better and BE BETTER!! I began to wonder how long was I supposed to walk around looking like what I had been through."
“It’s okay if you’re going through something,” she said in an interview with Huffpost. “Depression is not okay, but it is okay to go get help.”
In the interview, Williams revealed had been battling depression since she was a teen.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Many who are depressed often feel alone. But The Rock encouraged those who are going through the same saying, “I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and say, ‘Hey, it’s gonna be okay. I wish I knew that.”
He added, “You’re not the first to go through it; you’re not going to be the last to go through it.”
Beyoncé Knowles
In a 2011 interview with The Sun, Beyoncé admitted that she was forced to take a break for the sake of her mental health. “It was beginning to get fuzzy. My mother was very persistent and she kept saying that I had to take care of my mental health,” she said. “So I went to see museums, ballets, the Great Wall of China and everywhere I had been to but never got to see.”
Alicia Keys
Many people find it difficult to admit that they are struggling. Alicia Keys opened up about the walls she put up in an interview with People saying, “I started burying my feelings, and it got to a point where I couldn’t even tell my family or friends…I became a master of putting up the wall so that I was unreadable.”
J. K. Rowling
The author pointed out the difficulties those who haven’t suffered from mental illness have in understanding the condition: “It is so difficult to describe to someone who’s never been there, because it’s not sadness. It’s that cold absence of feeling…”
Kerry Washington
Washington spoke about the need to remove the stigma around mental health. “My brain and my heart are really important to me. I don’t know why I wouldn’t seek help to have those things be as healthy as my teeth. I go to the dentist. So why wouldn’t I go to a shrink?”
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