health

Bella Hadid is a world famous supermodel. She has emotional breakdowns "every day".

This post deal with depression and could be triggering for some readers.

Bella Hadid has a face that most around the world would recognise in an instant.

But the nine pictures she shared of herself today, are a far cry from the glamourous shots we have become used to.

Gone are the backstage-at-a-fashion-show snaps. The selfies tagging multiple hair and makeup artists are nowhere to be seen. Instead, just nine pictures of Bella Hadid, crying her eyes out. 

Watch Bella Hadid walk the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival. Post continues after video.


Video via Cannes Film Festival.

Alongside the carousel of crying pictures, Bella shared an extensive caption and a snippet of a video created by Willow Smith (Will Smith's daughter) - drawing on heavy themes of mental health and burnout.

"This is pretty much my every day [and] every night for a few years now," Bella states, referencing her selfies.

"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."

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"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."

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Bella was quick to point out that there can be relief from this painful cycle: "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."

Alongside thanking Willow Smith for putting words around her feelings with her video, Bella admitted that sharing this side of herself online is getting harder for her to do each day.

"Not sure why but it feels harder and harder to not share my truth on here," she states.

But she closes off her message with a heartfelt thank to her followers for giving her space to do so. "Thank you for seeing me and thank you for listening," says Bella. "I love you."

Listen to today's episode of Mamamia Out Loud, all about 'soft launching' on Instagram. Post continues after podcast.

As the daughter of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, Yolanda Hadid, and a bona fide supermodel herself, Bella has been no stranger to the spotlight.

She fronts global fashion and beauty campaigns and often shares glimpses into the production behind of these photoshoots to her 47 million followers on Instagram. So this sharp turn into sharing her raw, unfiltered emotions is indeed a plot twist in Bella Hadid's online narrative. Perhaps playing into her fear of sharing 'her truth' on the social media platform. 

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But it will come at no surprise that Bella's life is far from relaxing. As an in-demand model she is often flying around the globe for work commitments, and her family have been making a fair few headlines of late: with allegations that her sister's boyfriend (Zayn Malik) physically assaulted her mother, Yolanda Hadid. 

Bella, who is now 25-years-old, previously opened up about battling severe depression and anxiety when she was a teenager. She also decided to take a break from social media to focus on her mental health back in January of this year.

Despite mental health struggles being front of mind for the supermodel, Bella Hadid is determined to make sure that those fighting similar demons never feel totally alone.

"For anyone struggling, please remember that. Sometimes all you've gotta hear is that you're not alone."

If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, 24-hour support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.

Feature Image: @bellahadid Instagram.

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