Katy Perry gets candid about suicidal thoughts after breaking up with Orlando Bloom
In the UK, approximately 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem each year. The number of people who self-harm or have suicidal thoughts is increasing, according to mental health charity Mind, while eating disorders charity Beat estimate that there are 1.25 million people currently living with an eating disorder in the UK alone.
Despite its pervasiveness and severity, there is still an undeniable stigma and toxic stereotypes attached to mental illness, which prevents people from sharing their troubles and seeking vital treatment and help.
That's why it's so important that those with an audience use their platform to be open and honest about their struggles – because every time a celebrity or someone with a substantial reach confesses to ill mental health, they're breaking down the stigma and purveying the message that it's okay not to be okay.
Take Katy Perry, who in a recent interview with radio station SiriusXM, revealed that she contemplated suicide following her split from now-fiancé Orlando Bloom and the disappointing commercial success of her album Witness. "I just crashed," she shared. "Gratitude is probably the thing that saved my life, because if I did not find that I would have wallowed in my own sadness and probably just jumped."
Selena Gomez also recently revealed her bipolar disorder on Miley Cyrus's Instagram Live talk show Bright Minded. "I discussed that after years of going through a lot of different things, I realised that I was bipolar... I was equal parts terrified and relieved – terrified because the veil was lifted, but relieved that I finally had the knowledge of why I had suffered with various depressions and anxieties for so many years."
So, from Lili Reinhart's battles with depression to Ryan Reynolds opening up about anxiety, these are the celebrities that have powerfully – and vitally – opened about their mental illnesses.
If you're struggling and need to speak to someone, visit mind.org.uk for more information, call the Samaritans on 116 123, or call eating disorders charity Beat on 0808 801 0677 (adult helpline) or 0808 801 0711 (youth helpline).
Getty ImagesKaty Perry
Katy Perry opened up in a recent interview about contemplating suicide following her split from now-fiancé Orlando Bloom and a career low after the release of her album Witness in 2017. Speaking to radio station SiriusXM, she said: "My career was on this trajectory when it was going up, up and up and then I had the smallest shift, not that huge from an outside perspective. But for me it was seismic... I had given so much out, and it literally broke me in half. I had broken up with my boyfriend, who is now my baby daddy-to-be and then I was excited about flying high off the next record.
"But the validation did not make me high, and so I just crashed. Gratitude is probably the thing that saved my life, because if I did not find that I would have wallowed in my own sadness and probably just jumped.
“But I found the ways to be grateful. If it gets really, really hard I walk around and say, ‘I am grateful, I am grateful!’ even though I am in a sh***y mood.”
The singer also revealed how her faith helped when she hit rock bottom: "It was so important for me to be broken so that I could find my wholeness in a whole different way and be more dimensional than just living my life like a thirsty pop star all the time".
Getty ImagesSelena Gomez
Selena Gomez has long opened up about her mental health struggles, from the life-saving benefits of taking medication to dealing with bipolar disorder. "I never had full awareness or answers about this condition. When I have more information, it actually helps me, it doesn’t scare me once I know it," she said.
Lili Reinhart
Our November 2019 digital cover star was incredibly candid about her 'crippling anxiety' and going to therapy. "Depression has affected me in so many ways. It’s something that never goes away," she says. "I have spells of time where I feel completely unmotivated, I don’t want to do anything and I question myself. I don’t know how to handle stress very well. I find that talking about it and sharing my experience with other people, and reminding myself that I’m not alone has been incredibly therapeutic."
Getty ImagesMeghan Trainor
As part of GLAMOUR UNFILTERED, Meghan Trainor opened up about what a panic attack feels like. "For me what happens is, I lose my equilibrium, then my throat closes, then I'm certain that I can't breathe, and I think, 'This is how I'm going to die, right here, right now,'" she says.
And how getting help was so crucial: "I went to every doctor I could asking for help, but the psychiatrist told me, "Your chemicals are off, you're like this and we got to get you back to this." That was the first thing that's ever made sense to me. I went on medicine and I asked for a very low dose, it didn't change me at all, except for helping my panic. I haven't had a paid panic attack since."
Anne-Marie
Popstar Anne-Marie powerfully opened up for our Mental Health issue in April, recounting the depths of her anxiety. "Anxiety almost blocked me from thinking normally and remembering things, because I was so anxious about everything,” she says. "I thought I was going to die; I thought my family were going to die and that was mixed with a lot of things like OCD, which added to the anxiety as well. I regularly found it hard to leave the house."
Thomas WhitesideChrissy Teigen
We are so here for Chrissy's honesty. In our SS20 cover interview, she shared how mental health struggles have punctuated her life, particularly after giving birth to her daughter.
"It happened three months after giving birth to Luna,” she admits. "It was a sad existence. There were no highs. It was a flatline of life for a few months. You hear these horrific stories of people not seeing their child as theirs, or wanting to hurt them, and I never felt that way. That’s why I put off getting it checked as I hated myself, not my child. I don’t know why I didn’t realise, as it was so obvious to everyone else! John was there when the doctor gave the diagnosis and, of course, he already knew. I didn’t know it could sneak up so late or that it could happen to someone like me."
Getty ImagesMichelle Williams
Michelle Williams, of Destiny's Child fame, admitted herself into a mental health facility to seek treatment for depression in 2018. According to TMZ, the 37-year-old received treatment in a facility just outside of Los Angeles. Michelle made a candid statement to the website, saying: "For years I have dedicated myself to increasing awareness of mental health and empowering people to recognize when it's time to seek help, support and guidance from those that love and care for your wellbeing.' Today I proudly, happily and healthily stand here as someone who will continue to always lead by example as I tirelessly advocate for the betterment of those in need."
Getty ImagesRyan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds opened up about the anxiety he experienced whilst filming Deadpool. "I never, ever slept. Or I was sleeping at a perfect right angle – just sitting straight, constantly working at the same time", he explained. "By the time we were in post [production], we’d been to Comic-Con, and people went crazy for it. The expectations were eating me alive." The 40-year-old credited his wife, Blake Lively, for helping him through it: "Blake helped me through that. I’m lucky to have her around just to keep me sane".
RexfeaturesWill Young
When Will Young pulled out of Strictly Come Dancing insiders said it was a result of his anxiety. He has always been honest about battling his demons. The singer said: "It's very isolating. There's a part of my brain that is telling me that you're about to die, you either shut down, freeze or you run. The only thing I can do is go to bed." He added: "There have been dreadful times where I've been suicidal and on the floor."
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham posted a message on her Instagram about using exercise to deal with her anxiety. She wrote: “Promised myself I would not let exercise be the first thing to go by the wayside when I got busy with Girls Season 5 and here is why: it has helped me with my anxiety in ways I’ve never dreamed possible. “To those struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression: I know it’s mad annoying when people tell you to exercise, and it took me about 16 medicated years to listen. I’m glad I did. It ain’t about the ass, it’s about the brain.”
Demi Lovato
The singer has never shied away from opening up about her battles and is determined to de-stigmatise mental illness by sharing her story. Demi Lovato said: “I just think mental illness is something people need to learn more about.I want people to know it's okay to ask for help and it's okay to have a mental illness." Speaking at the National Council for Behavioral Health in Washington DC, she said: “I think it's important that people no longer look at mental illness as something taboo to talk about. It's something that's extremely common, one in five adults has a mental illness, so basically everyone is essentially connected to this problem and this epidemic," she explains. "The problem with mental illness is people don't look at it as a physical illness. When you think about it, the brain is actually the most complex organ in your body. We need to treat it like a physical illness and take it seriously."
Kerry Washington
As Scandal's Olivia Pope, she is always solving problems and Kerry Washington knows the importance of having therapy to sort her own life too. “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?”
Cara Delevingne
She is one of the most successful models in the world but Cara Delevingne used her power for good when she posted on Twitter about her battle with depression.
She Tweeted: "I suffer from depression and was a model during a particularly rough patch of self hatred. I am so lucky for the work I get to do but I used to work to try and escape and just ended up completely exhausting myself. I am focusing on filming and trying to learn not to pick apart my every flaw. I am really good at that.”
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman explained: “People use ‘panic attack’ very casually out here in Los Angeles, but I don’t think most of them really know what it is. Every breath is laboured. You are dying. You are going to die. It’s terrifying. And then when the attack is over, the depression is still there.
"I wouldn’t wish depression on anyone. But if you ever experience it, or are experiencing it right now, just know that on the other side, the little joys in life will be that much sweeter. The tough times, the days when you’re just a ball on the floor-they’ll pass. You’re playing the long game and life is totally worth it.”
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber spoke to NME about how fame had a negative effect on his mental health: “I’m struggling just to get through the days. I think a lot of people are
This life can rip you apart. [I get depressed] all the time. And I feel isolated. You’re in your hotel room and there are fans all around, paparazzi following you everywhere, and it gets intense. When you can’t go anywhere or do anything alone you get depressed. I would not wish this upon anyone.”
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried talked to Glamour about receiving therapy for her anxiety: “I still do get terribly nervous, and that’s partly due to the fact I think too much and overanalyse things. I’ll start worrying about my parents or my dog, and I’ll picture him opening the window of my apartment and falling out, even though I can’t get that thing open myself.”
Getty ImagesZayn Malik
The One Direction star has been praised for his honesty over his "extreme anxiety" which has led to him having to cancel concerts.
Zayn Malik said: "I have been working over the last three months to overcome my extreme anxiety around major live solo performances.
"I don’t have it in me to feel secure in anything I do. I always strive towards something better.
“It’s why I sometimes come across the wrong way – a bit distant. I’m stressed out trying to control how I’m perceived.”
Nicole Scherzinger
The X Factor judge opened up about her battle of bulimia calling it “a horrible, paralysing disease”.
Nicole Scherzinger said:
“I had started losing my voice, I couldn’t sing at shows, and then I remember my manager finding me passed out on the floor in Malta or in the south of France. I thought, ‘I’m going to lose everything I love if I don’t love myself.’ … It’s sad to see how I wasted my life. I had such a great life on the outside, the [Pussycat] Dolls were on top of the world, but I was miserable on the inside. I’m never letting that happen again; you only get one life – I was 27 only once.”
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder explains how depression feels: “You can’t pay enough money to cure that feeling of being broken and confused. It’s not like every day’s been great ever since. You have good days and bad days, and depression’s something that, y’know, is always with you.”
Adele
“I have anxiety attacks, constant panicking on stage, my heart feels like it’s going to explode because I never feel like I’m going to deliver, ever," Adele reveals.
Beyonce
Even a megastar like Beyonce sometimes struggles to feel ok.
She said: “It was beginning to get fuzzy – I couldn’t even tell which day or which city I was at. I would sit there at ceremonies and they would give me an award and I was just thinking about the next performance. My mother was very persistent and she kept saying that I had to take care of my mental health.”
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones disappeared from the spotlight to deal with her bipolar disorder but decided to talk about it to help others in similar positions.
She said: “I never wanted to be as open about it as I was. I have a British stiff-upper-lip mentality. I’m not the kind of person who likes to shout out my personal issues from the rooftops but, with my bipolar becoming public, I hope fellow sufferers will know it is completely controllable. I hope I can help remove any stigma attached to it, and that those who don’t have it under control will seek help with all that is available to treat it. If I’ve helped anybody by discussing bipolar or depression, that’s great.”
Ellen DeGeneres
The talkshow host has spoken about the anger and depression that she faced after she came out.
Ellen DeGeneres
told Mail On Sunday: “When I walked out of the studio after five years of working so hard, knowing I had been treated so disrespectfully for no other reason than I was gay, I just went into this deep, deep depression.
“It's so corny but it's true. You have no idea where the darkest times of your life might end, so you have to just keep going."
Emma Stone
“The first time I had a panic attack I was sitting in my friend’s house, and I thought the house was burning down. I called my mom and she brought me home, and for the next three years it just would not stop.
“I would ask my mom to tell me exactly how the day was going to be, then ask again 30 seconds later. I just needed to know that no one was going to die and nothing was going to change," Emma Stone tells the The Wall Street Journal.
Halle Berry
Halle Berry talked about her lowest point:
“I was sitting in my car, and I knew the gas was coming when I had an image of my mother finding me. She sacrificed so much for her children, and to end my life would be an incredibly selfish thing to do. My sense of worth was so low. I had to reprogram myself to see the good in me. Because someone didn’t love me didn’t mean I was unlovable. That’s what the break-up of my marriage reduced me to. It took away my self-esteem. It beat me down to the lowest of lows.”
David Beckham
David Beckham attempted to de-stigmatize Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by speaking out about how he deals with his condition.
He said: “I've got this Obsessive Compulsive Disorder where I have to have everything in a straight line or everything has to be in pairs. I'll put my Pepsi cans in the fridge and if there's one too many then I'll put it in another cupboard somewhere.
The father of four added: "I’ll go into a hotel room. Before I can relax I have to move all the leaflets and all the books and put them in a drawer. Everything has to be perfect."
Melanie C
Mel C
revealed falling pregnant with her daughter, Scarlett helped her recover from her eating disorder.
She said: "When I was in the Spice Girls, the stress of suddenly being thrust into the limelight led me into an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise. I became obsessed about what I ate and I cut lots of food groups, like carbs and protein, out of my diet. I survived on fruit and vegetables and little else … I had to be healthy and from the moment I knew I was pregnant, I wanted to give Scarlet the nutrition she needed to grow fit, strong and healthy.”
Miley Cyrus
The former Disney star prides herself on her honesty.
Miley Cyrus said: “I went through a time where I was really depressed. I locked myself in my room and my dad had to break my door down. My fans know that I’ve struggled with depression, and that helped them get over theirs. That gives me a big purpose – a reason to wake up in the morning that’s bigger than to put my f**king feathers and my little outfit.”
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga reveals: “I was angry, cynical and had this deep sadness like an anchor dragging everywhere I go. I just didn’t feel like fighting anymore. I didn’t feel like standing up for myself one more time – to one more person who lied to me. I really felt like I was dying – my light completely out. I said to myself, ‘Whatever is left in there, even just one light molecule, you will find it and make it multiply. You have to for you. You have to for your music. You have to for your fans and your family.’”
Taylor Swift
“And it can feel, at times, if you let your anxiety get the better of you, like everybody’s waiting for you to really mess up - and then you’ll be done," Taylor Swift speaks out about her struggles.
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson opened up about her battle with depression in 2010 on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.The Oscar-winning actress admitted the condition had crippled her most of her life. She first suffered while playing the lead role in a West End revival of the musical, Me and My Girl in the 1980s.
She said: "I think my first bout of that was when I was doing Me and My Girl, funnily enough.
"I really didn't change my clothes or answer the phone, but went into the theatre every night and was cheerful and sang the Lambeth Walk. That's what actors do. But I think that was my first bout with an actual clinical depression."
The 55-year-old admitted it was work that helped her get better and also meeting her husband, Greg Wise on set of Sense and Sensibility.
She said: "The only thing I could do was write. I used to crawl from the bedroom to the computer and just sit and write, and then I was alright, because I was not present.
"Sense and Sensibility really saved me from going under, I think, in a very nasty way."
Drew Barrymore
The actress rose to fame appearing in ET when she was just seven but by the time she was a teenager, she was already addicted to drugs and alcohol and attempted suicide cutting her wrists when she was just 13.
Speaking in 2015 to the Guardian,
Drew Barrymore said: “I really had a fear that I was going to die at 25. And half yes, because no matter how dark shit got, I always had a sense that there should be goodness. I never went all the way into darkness. There were so many things I could have done that would have pushed me over the edge and I just knew not to go there.”
