12 Celebrities Who Were Unafraid To Open Up About Their Mental Health Issues

Sharon McFadden
Jan 28, 2023
Jan 28, 2023

Being a celebrity means you have to face intense public scrutiny constantly. The bigger the fame, the heavier the burden. Many stars have to hide their true feelings behind their million-dollar smile and charming look in front of the cameras. They show the world the best parts of themselves, putting on their brightest faces while bottling up their negative feelings. This toxic trait has led to countless cases of depression and mental health issues.
Luckily, some stars have the brave heart to come out and open up about their mental struggles. Through their stories, we understand that celebrities are just humans. They crumble under stress just like us, but they have the guts to put themselves back together afterward. So let’s scroll down and find out their stories.

1. Selena Gomez

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Selena Gomez has opened up about her anxiety and depression many times before. The singer admitted that Instagram was the source of her anxiety, and she had to quit social media at times because of her mental health. Taking a break from the online world helped her a lot with her struggles.
Selena Gomez shared in one of her interviews, saying “The unnecessary hate and comparisons went away once I put my phone down. I'll have moments where that weird feeling will come back, but now I have a much better relationship with myself."

2. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

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Even a tough guy like The Rock can be a victim of depression. In his interview with ITV, the star said, “Depression doesn’t discriminate. Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living, we all kinda go through it.” Dwayne chose to deal with his mental health issue by talking with others and sharing his problems with his loved ones. According to him, the key to fighting back against depression is to remember that you’re not alone.

3. Harry Styles

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One Direction might bring Harry Styles to fame, but it also created a ton of confidence issues for him. During his early days, Styles was constantly afraid of singing incorrect notes or getting things wrong. He had stage fright and anxiety regularly, which took quite a toll on him. In One Direction's autobiography, the singer admitted that his natural confidence was being taken over by nerves back then.

4. Ryan Reynolds

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Despite being an A-list movie star, Ryan Reynolds felt like he was still an awkward kid most of the time. His anxiety started when he was just a young boy and has been following him until now. The anxious side sometimes would get the better of him, making the actor feel like he is going to mess everything up.
Luckily, his confident side got his back as soon as the cameras start rolling. “I feel, like, my heart rate drop, and my breathing calms, and I just sort of go out and I'm this different person," Reynolds said.

5. Sydney Sweeney

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Sydney Sweeney’s sudden rise to fame made her feel like she was dying. After countless panic attacks, the actress admitted, “I was losing my shit.” So to heal herself, Sweeney took a break from acting and spent two weeks resting at her home back in the Pacific Northwest. During this break, she went hiking, skiing, and did other things that she wanted.
The star also didn’t touch her phone. Things have gotten a little bit better after that, but Sweeney still had anxiety. She shared with The Hollywood Reporter, saying “I still can’t get my mind to shut up, and I don’t sleep.”

6. Prince Harry

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The primary source of Prince Harry’s anxiety was the constant public scrutiny he and his family have to face. He felt that the lies, the grief, and the misconceptions surrounding his family’s life were too much for him to bear. On numerous occasions, the prince almost had a complete breakdown and cracked under the pressure.

7. Adele

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Adele’s divorce left her in pieces. To fight back her terrifying panic attacks, the famous singer chose exercise as her outlet. She explained that her workout was never about losing weight, but to help with her anxiety. “I thought, ‘If I can make my body physically strong, and I can feel that and see that, then maybe one day I can make my emotions and my mind physically strong,” she explained.

8. Ariana Grande

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For Ariana Grande, the UK terrorist attack at her Manchester show triggered a lot of her mental health problems. She claimed that she often had wild dizzy spells and felt suffocated after she got home from her tours. Her anxiety would attack her out of nowhere, even when she was fine and happy. “There were a couple of months straight where I felt so upside down,” the singer said.

9. Emma Stone

Emma Stone claimed to be a "very, very, very anxious child." Her anxiety even manifested into a little green monster that appeared in her childhood paintings. The monster would whisper in her ear and tell her lies about her insecurities. It grew bigger every time she listened to it but shrank and faded away if she ignored it and just kept doing what she was doing. This was a great trick that her therapist taught her to deal with anxiety.

10. Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has been fighting depression and anxiety her whole life. To help other people, she founded the Born This Way Foundation to show her support. The famous singer once told Billboard, “I just want these kids to know that that depth that they feel as human beings are normal. We were born that way. This modern thing, where everyone is feeling shallow and less connected? That's not human.”

11. Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm deals with his depression by going to therapy, and he is unafraid to share about it. To him, medical attention is important whether it’s for your body or your mind. The actor also criticized how society made people think sharing their problems was a weakness. According to Hamm, being able to share your negative thoughts with other people took a lot of courage.

12. Lili Reinhart

Lili Reinhart has been diagnosed with mental health issues since she was 14. She spent years fighting back but admitted that some days, she still felt defeated by them. Reinhart wanted others to know that it was okay to give up sometimes.
She posted on her Instagram, writing “You don't need to justify your mental health to anyone. Prioritize yourself when needed, and take time to rest. But remember you are always worth fighting for. And tomorrow could be such a beautiful day."

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