Kendal Amos 
Poor mental health has this way of making us feel very alone and that isolation can sometimes make you feel worse. But the truth of the matter is that so many people are battling to improve, uplift and maintain a state of good mental health. Even those who seem like they have everything in the world could have the same fears or doubts as you. And many of them do.
You are not alone, and to prove it here are five celebrities who have spoken loud and proud about their own mental health.
Halle Berry
A classic Black household name, Halle Berry and most celebrities seem leagues away from us mere civilians in many ways. But in a 2007 interview with Parade magazine she spoke out about the state of her mental health after her 1997 divorce from athlete David Justice. “It took away my self-esteem. It beat me down to the lowest of lows — the gum on the bottom of David’s shoe, that’s what I felt like. Somewhere in my heart, I think I knew I didn’t really want to end my life. I just wanted to end the pain,” she said about her own mental health at the time.
And not only that, but in the same interview Berry attempted to jumpstart a shift on the narrative surrounding therapy as well. “People still associate therapy with being crazy. But I think you’re crazy if you won’t consider going to get help for yourself—to learn the tools to deal with the problems in your life. Once people see what it is and what it’s not, they race to go back. They get the benefit. But it’s hard to get people to the first session because of fear.”
Nicki Minaj
We know the queen of rap is a pretty open book who has a close connection with her fans, so it’s not that surprising that she shared her struggles with her mental health in a 2011 Cosmo interview.
“I kept having doors slammed in my face. I felt like nothing was working. I had moved out on my own, and here I was thinking I’d have to go home. It was just one dead end after another. At one point, I was, like, ‘What would happen if I just didn’t wake up?’ That’s how I felt. Like maybe I should just take my life,” she said.
I know that feeling of frustration and rejection well, and I’m sure you do too. But if Nicki is anything to go by, I think it’s fair to agree on not giving up.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Dwayne Johnson, aka “The Rock,” can seem almost untouchable because of the persona he’s perfected, but anyone can suffer mentally, and everyone deserves support rather than shame. Even men like The Rock whose arm is larger than my head.
Mental health tends to be one of those areas when toxic gender roles affect us all, men especially. But The Rock combated this narrative publicly.
“I’ve worked hard over the years to gain the emotional tools to work through any mental pain that may come to test me. As men, we didn’t talk about it. We just kept our head down and worked through it. Not healthy, but it’s all we knew,” said Johnson.
Zayn Malik
Former One Direction member Zayn Malik – your teen heartthrob, your first crush, the man possibly taped to your walls – is not ashamed of talking about his anxiety and so neither should you.
“Personally I am not a very outgoing…person. Like, in terms of big groups of people. It’s been a year since I’ve properly shown my face,” he said.
Zendaya
The internet sees Emmy Award-winning actress Zendaya as this unreal beauty, perfect in almost every way including appearance and personality, and that’s all true. But when she spoke up about her mental health in an interview, she proved that you can be amazing in a hundred different ways and stumble mentally as well.
In a 2021 interview with British Vogue, she spoke about the “first kind of taste of sadness where you wake up and you just feel bad all day, like what the f*** Is it going on? What is this dark cloud that’s hovering over me and I don’t know how to get rid of it, you know?”
Zendaya is also a big advocate of seeking help. “Of course I go to therapy,” the “Euphoria” star said. “I mean, if anybody is able to possess the financial means to go to therapy, I would recommend they do that. I think it’s a beautiful thing. There’s nothing wrong with working on yourself and dealing with those things with someone who can help you, someone who can talk to you, who’s not your mom or whatever, who has no bias.”
As we close out Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s important to remember that ultimately you are in charge of your mental wellness. Do what you can to take care of yourself.
By Kendal Amos, Senior, Chi-Arts
Instagram: Kendal.amos
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