Taking care of our mental health is always important, but now more than ever, it feels crucial. Right now, our world is struggling in ways that would break an ordinarily healthy person, so it’s imperative we all take care of our mental health. Keep taking your meds, have teletherapy sessions, hug your pets, take deep breaths, and open up to friends and family. That’s what Emily Ratajkowski decided to do on Instagram. The model and actress revealed that she privately struggled with depression last year in hopes it might help people struggling with their own mental health during the coronavirus crisis.
“This pic was taken toward the end of last year. 2019 was one of the hardest years of my life. My mom was really sick, I was battling a serious depression and everything felt very uncertain,” Ratajkowski writes.
“2020 is definitely giving last year a run for its money but I’m happy to say that I’ve have learned how to take better care of myself. I don’t generally like to get too personal on here and I’m far from having shit figured out but these were some of the notes I scribbled down on New Year’s Eve. I wanted to share them and a little piece of my story in case they might make any of you feel less alone in the anxiety or confusion or fear you could be experiencing right now.”
Ratajkowski also shared pictures of handwritten pages from what seems to be a journal. The heading is “Things I Learned in 2019” and then a list follows.
“You can’t control other peoples’ perceptions so do not let their perceptions dictate your life or who you are,” she writes.
“Your feelings are always justified and should be honored. That doesn’t mean they are real.”
“Be curious about yourself and other people rather than judgmental…telling your story is liberating.”
Ratajkowski continued with her words of wisdom on another page.
“Laughing at yourself is everything,” she writes. “The people in your life who love you are a wonderful gift, treat them as such. Life goes by too quickly to be afraid of making mistakes.”
It’s good advice.
Let’s all try to be more open and supportive of our loved ones—and kinder to ourselves while we all struggle with our new reality.