In honor of World Mental Health Day, read what stars like Bella Hadid, Demi Lovato and Dwayne Johnson have shared about their journeys.
Though World Mental Health Day is Oct. 10, prioritizing one’s wellbeing means focusing on it more than one day a year.
And while it can sometimes feel difficult to put yourself first, not doing so can also have consequences.
“I was in the rat race for so long and wanting to please everybody else and wanting to do so much for everybody else,” Bella Hadid recalled on a May episode of The Drew Barrymore Show. “And that honestly in those moments brought me joy until I was completely burned out and I couldn’t do anything.”
So the model—who’s spoken about her journey with her physical and mental health, including her Lyme disease diagnosis and battles with anxiety and depression—knew she had to make changes to take care of herself.
“Once you feel better on the inside and you feel good enough that you can then give back with your cup full, then you’re able to give people the experience of you that you need for yourself,” she added. “Because if you start to go to work and you get the burnouts, then you’re not really you and you can’t do your job correctly, you can’t be kind, you can’t be hardworking, you can’t be loving. You can’t see everybody around you because you can’t even see yourself.”
However, this journey isn’t always easy and can take time.
“I think I will always be working on my mental health, and I will always evolve,” Selena Gomez said on a May episode of the podcast Making Space With Hoda Kotb. “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.”
The singer has shared what she’s gone through with her physical and mental health, including her diagnoses with lupus and bipolar disorder, and noted she “felt freedom” from discussing her experiences.
“I’m not better or worse than anyone. I’m simply just a person living and surviving every day,” Selena continued, later adding, “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.”
Amy Sussman/Getty Images, Taylor Hill/WireImage, Arnold Jerocki/GC ImagesBy learning more about mental health, people can gain valuable lessons that they can then share to help others. Take for instance how Ryan Reynolds says he’s acquired insights from living with anxiety and been able to apply them while parenting.
“Now I love that I have anxiety, ” the Deadpool star—who shares kids James, Inez, Betty and Olin with wife Blake Lively—explained to pal and fellow actor Hugh Jackman in a May interview for People. “I love that I’ve had anxiety because when I see my kids experiencing some of that, which is probably genetic, I know how to address it in a way that is compassionate. I know how to address it in a way that actually allows them to feel seen in that anxiety, and I know that I can’t just fix it. And I can communicate all that stuff to them and with them. So, I’m always kind of grateful for it.”
In honor of World Mental Health Day, see what more stars have shared about their own journeys.
River Callaway/Variety via Getty ImagesCandace Cameron Bure
The Full House alum reflected on her mental health journey and navigating her battle with depression.
“It’s very difficult to speak out about it, even to your most trusted people,” she shared on her Candace Cameron Bure Podcast. “At least for me, I feel like I should be strong enough to overcome that and then it feels so weak.”
David Fisher/ShutterstockThe Grammy winner has been very open about how she protects her energy, such as ignoring haters on social media, while also sharing her advice for those who may need help.
“When people ask me what I’d say to somebody looking for advice on mental health, the only thing I can say is patience,” she told Vogue. “I had patience with myself. I didn’t take that last step. I waited. Things fade.”
Jamie McCarthy/Getty ImagesKaty Perry
While everyone was trying to make the best of socially distancing to slow the coronavirus pandemic, the “Firework” artist got real about how situations like this can also be extremely stressful.
“Sometimes I don’t know what’s worse trying to avoid the virus or the waves of depression that come with this new norm,” she shared on Twitter. Katy talked about how she manages those waves, writing, “There is not really anywhere to go besides my car. So I go to my car a lot. That is my safe space.”
Christopher Smith/Invision/AP/ShutterstockThe model, who has teamed up with designer Kenneth Cole to raise awareness for The Mental Health Coalition, spoke on Good Morning America about her own experiences with anxiety.
She recalled after her panic attacks started recurring, she, “finally kind of got the information that I needed about it.”
“For me, I have good days and I have some really anxious days, so I’m really off and on,” Kendall expressed, adding that was why she wanted to become involved with the movement. “What I hope to accomplish is for people to not feel as alone.”
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesDwayne Johnson
The Black Adam actor has been open about having depression and how it can be difficult for men to talk about their mental health.
“We all go thru the sludge/shit and depression never discriminates. Took me a long time to realize it but the key is to not be afraid to open up,” he wrote on Twitter. “Especially us dudes have a tendency to keep it in. You’re not alone.”
Tim Rooke/ShutterstockThe Duke of Sussex helped break down some of the stigma around seeking help for mental health when, in an interview with the Telegraph, he opened up about his own journey with therapy. As he told the outlet, “The experience I have had is that once you start talking about it, you realize that actually you’re part of quite a big club.”
Jordan Strauss/Invision/APAnother proponent of seeking professional help, the Empire star has been open about her struggles with depression.
“I have a therapist that I speak to,” she previously told Variety. “That’s the only way I can get through it.”
Taraji even started The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, which works to reduce the stigma around mental health in the African American community and also works to increase the number of Black therapists.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock“When I was in middle school, I was struggling with severe anxiety and depression and the help and support I received from my family and a therapist saved my life,” the Riverdale actress wrote on Instagram in 2017. “Asking for help is the first step. You are more precious to this world than you’ll ever know.”
Matt Baron/ShutterstockThe Frozen star has talked for years about her strategies for coping with her mental health at public keynotes and even on her Instagram Stories.
She has advocated for finding the methods that help you best, which for her, according to Health, can include medication, listing ten positive things in her life for every negative thought and getting plenty of exercise.
Matt Baron/ShutterstockWhile the cookbook author is the proud parent to four kiddos, she’s also been open about postpartum depression that many new mothers experience but feel like they cannot talk about.
“It got easier and easier to say it aloud every time,” she wrote in an open letter to Glamour in 2017. “I want people to know it can happen to anybody and I don’t want people who have it to feel embarrassed or to feel alone.”
Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesWhile promoting her book Mirror, Mirror, the model opened up to The Edit magazine about facing depression and suicidal thoughts as a teenager, saying she felt “something dark” in her during that time.
“I relied too much on love, too much on other people to make me happy, and I needed to learn to be happy by myself,” Cara told the publication, via W. “So now I can be by myself, I can be happy. It took me a long time.”
Erik Pendzich/ShutterstockThe “Thank U, Next” artist has encouraged fans to seek help if they need, responding to a Twitter user who joked about wondering who Ariana’s therapist is with, “lmaoaoo this is funny as f–k but in all honesty therapy has saved my life so many times.”
“If you’re afraid to ask for help, don’t be,” she continued. “u don’t have to be in constant pain & u can process trauma. I’ve got a lot of work to do but it’s a start to even be aware that it’s possible.”
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording AcademyThe singer has been open about her journey with addiction, sobriety, mental health and more, including many of those aspects of her life within her music.
She also continually reminds fans that working on your mental health is an ongoing process where there will be some bad days, previously writing on Instagram, “A reminder to anyone struggling out there – this life is a journey with tons of ups and downs but you can’t give up.”
John Salangsang/ShutterstockNot only has the actress taken on roles that deal with mental health, such as her role as Rue in the teen drama Euphoria, she’s also addressed those issues in her own life, too.
Back in 2013, Zendaya wrote on her now-defunct app that she struggled with anxiety after an appearance on Ellen where her mic went out. She has since learned ways to manage those feelings, adding, “Sometimes you just have to take a step back so things stop stressin’ you.”
Rob Latour/REX/ShutterstockThe singer candidly described her mental health journey with WSJ Magazine, saying, “My highs were really high, and my lows would take me out for weeks at a time.”
“I found out I do suffer from mental health issues,” she shared. “I got on the right medication, and my life has been completely changed.”
Steve Granitz/WireImageThe Grammy winner made it her mission to spread kindness and be open about mental health, including her own.
“I have struggled for a long time, both being public and not public about my mental health issues or my mental illness,” she said during the Global Changemakers Award at Children Mending Hearts’ Empathy Rocks fundraiser in 2018. “But, I truly believe that secrets keep you sick.”
