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Bella Hadid posted a series of selfies to her Instagram on Tuesday. But these were unlike the selfies we?ve come to expect. Bella began her multi-photo set with a clip of Willow Smith speaking about not feeling good enough. She followed the clip with several shots of herself crying. Next to the photos, Bella wrote a raw, emotional note to her followers about the frailties of mental health. In her comments, she reminded everyone that ?help and mental illness/chemical imbalance is not linear,? and that all those emotions felt like a ?rollercoaster.? Bella opened up about her own struggles and breakdowns. She said it?s getting harder to share her truth online but she wants to because she?s wants people to know they aren?t alone. And much like Zo Kravitz?s message, she wants to remind people that ?Social media is not real.? This is Bellas full caption:
< @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.
?That feeling of thinking that you?re good enough or being insecure about your art- is natural- but at the same time, I feel like it?s taught.
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. ?
This is pretty much my everyday , every night
For a few years now
Social media is 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 is 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. (There is always room for it to start up again, but for me it?s always been nice to know that even if it?s a few days, weeks, or months, it does get better, to some extent, even for a moment. ) it took me a long time to get that in my mind , but I?ve had enough breakdowns and burnouts to know this: if you work hard enough on yourself, spending time alone to understand your traumas , triggers, joys, and routine, you will always be able to understand or learn more about your own pain and how to handle it. Which is all that you can ask of yourself. Anyways. Not sure why but it feels harder and harder to not share my truth on here. Thank you for seeing me and thank you for listening. I love you
[From Instagram via CNN]
My niece and I were just talking about all the ways in which mental health is not linear this past weekend. Not those words, but the idea that Bella is discussing. I?m really impressed with Bella for this. I know there will be those who condemn her for what they claim is a grab for attention. But someone who is in a slump or feels like their rollercoaster is stalled out at the bottom will see this when they most need it. That goes back to the unpredictability of mental health. Some days a post like this will do nothing for me and some days it?ll hit me exactly the way I need it to. Until you need that virtual hand-hold, you have no idea how much it matters. I understand Bella?s decision to post the crying selfies too. This week has been hard. Mean, actually. I?m struggling with people this week. I kind of wanted to broadcast that too, to let people online know they were hurting others. Maybe it made them feel better to attack faceless people, but did they really want to cause that much pain?
The other part of Bella?s message, about social media not being real, I dunno. I think we can say that until we are blue in the face, but I?m not sure it will ever sink in. Social media is usually the best or worst of us. I appreciate Bella reminding us of that. And I know where she?s coming from because I?m sure people remind her how perfect her life is based on what they see on her social media. But everyone suffers and this was a risk for Bella to take. Good for her. I hope those who needed to see it did.
Photo credit:Avalon Red, InStar and Instagram
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