Giving visibility to mental health problems is something so crucial in this century that talking about it never hurts. Lifting the stigma that falls on disorders such as depression and anxiety has taken center stage due to statistics that indicate that four out of every ten young people have suffered from a related problem. It is increasingly normal to talk about it in public, something that experts recommend, and celebrities have not been left out.
Robbie Williams, who turns 50 today, opened up about the dark chapters of his life about to celebrate half a century. The singer, who suffered from depression and addictions, recently spoke about these problems in a Netflix documentary. He confessed that he “lost control” during the early days of Take That and that he is still trying to “repair the damage of the past”.
“Fear. Shame. Pain. A whole range of human emotions. I’m almost 50. I’m a father. I have four children and a lovely wife. Everything I have experienced in my life is impressive. But I feel like the past has me by the throat,” he explained.
While many went to the United States to succeed, this Briton had to go to cure himself in several cycles of rehabilitation in the late nineties and early 2000s. He went with his current wife, the American actress Ayda Field, with who seems to have found stability. Although there were very few happy reflections about him in the documentary, he recognized something decisive: “I have managed to accept and love myself.”
Also British, Cara Delevingne spoke about how she overcame the addictions that led her to star in those embarrassing images barefoot and disoriented in Los Angeles. The actress and model said that she did not have an easy childhood due to her mother’s addictions and that she herself has suffered from depression and addictions.
Among all his statements in this sense, two lessons stand out. On the one hand, for her, the only one who can solve one’s problems is oneself: “I thought that the love of others was what was going to make me happy, when in reality what I had to do was love myself.” The other is that treatments must be taken at the right time. “I always thought that work should be done in bad times, but in reality, work should be done in good times. The work must be done consistently,” she assured.
Angy Fernández performed at the last Benidorm Fest with Sé qué soy, an autobiographical song with which she addressed her depression. “After years of searching, of bad and good moments, of therapy, every day I am clearer about who I am, what I want in life,” she confessed in an interview. The Mallorcan retired temporarily after suffering from stage fright, but she has never been afraid to talk about her mental health.
Tennis player Paula Badosa also suffered from depression in one of the most exposed moments of her career: “I have always said that I go to the gym every day to work on my body: the mind is the same, you have to work the same.” Another current athlete due to his mental health is Ricky Rubio, who temporarily retired for treatment and is about to return to the field signed by Barça.
Jorge Javier Vázquez, who will return to the screen to present the next edition of Survivors, has also suffered several cycles of depression and has opened up to his followers about the many therapies he has carried out. In his last interview he acknowledged that he has undergone therapy to accept sadness. “I have learned to accept negative feelings. Before I shied away from sadness, now I accept it […] The final reflection is that just as success does not depend exclusively on you, neither does failure,” he declared.
