Camila Cabello Pens Mental Health Essay for WSJ
Camila Cabello has penned an essay for the Wall Street Journal. The essay was written for WSJ’s Mental Health Awareness Month.
In the essay, Camila opened up to about her struggles with mental health, her battle with OCD, hiding her mental illness, seeking treatment and so much more. Highlights can be found below.
On living with OCD: “OCD is not how it’s stereotyped, like,“She’s so OCD about her desk being organized, etc.” OCD can take many different forms, and for me it was obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. To put it simply, it made me feel like my mind was playing a cruel trick on me. It affected me physically, too. I couldn’t sleep for a long time, I had a constant knot in my throat, I had chronic headaches, and my body went through what felt like multiple roller-coaster rides every day.”
On seeking treatment: “It’s hard to be there for your people when you’re just trying to be OK yourself. That’s why being brave enough and loving yourself enough to speak up and get help is not only the best gift you can give yourself but the best gift you can give the people you care about. In the moments when I was battling my anxiety, I wasn’t present when my sister talked to me about her day, or I wasn’t present enough to notice that my mom had been quiet. I couldn’t ask my mom what was wrong, because my mind was making so much noise and my hands were full trying to handle my own pain.
I knew I needed to take action and take ownership of the one mind and the one life I was given.I did a lot of work every day for months. Through the help of cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation (the most empowering thing I think a human being can do, whether you are struggling or not), breathwork and taking care of my body, I am not in that internal war that I was in every day. It also took a lot of self-love (believing I am inherently worthy of happiness, belonging, love and joy, no matter what), self-compassion (not emotionally beating myself up for struggling) and self-awareness (calling myself out on my shit).”
You can read her full interview here. What a great essay!
Source: WSJ