Despite all the buzz and bling’s, supermodel Bella Hadid openly posted about her mental health recently by posting multiple pictures of her crying and the response weren’t very nice! We really can’t have it all, eh? But it’s fine! She’s still valid.
Bella Hadid’s life is basically an open book. Growing up in an industry where perfection is mandatory, and being flawed is a crime, artists tend to conform to society’s standards instead of embracing who they really are. Self-disclosure takes a lot of courage for it comes with consequences (Calhoun & Gold, 2020); And for someone who’s as influential as Bella, it was so brave of her to share a piece of her experience even if it cost her people meddling with her personal life.
Adolescents that perceives their self-image negatively tends to suffer with stress, mood disorders and depression (Silvar, 2001). We live in an era where mental health is still considered taboo. Society can easily shut someone down by invalidating their feelings and make it a competition on who’s sadder or who had it worse.
Although media is a manipulative and malicious platform, celebrity culture plays a huge role in dismantling the stigma towards mental health. Bella Hadid’s self-disclosure sure has moved a lot of people who are openly and silently battling their own battles. The supermodel has been transparent with her intentions and has been actively donating to organizations which opts for solidarity because she believes that everyone deserves to be heard, and uplifted.
Social Media has brainwashed us too much to the point that diagnosed celebrities were considered unrealistic. The pandemic has made us all feel overwhelmed with sorts of emotions at once, and the least that we can do is acknowledge them. Privilege sure is their edge, but it’s not a free pass to invalidate their core emotions.
Citation & References
Slivar, Branko. (2001). The syndrome of burnout, self-image, and anxiety with grammar school students. Horiz Psychol. 10. 21–32.
Calhoun, A.J., Gold, J.A. “I Feel Like I Know Them”: the Positive Effect of Celebrity Self-disclosure of Mental Illness. Acad Psychiatry 44, 237–241 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01200-5
