Alastair Grant Alastair Grant

OVER THE LAST few years, actress and model Cara Delevingne has been fairly open about her mental health struggles.

In 2015, she was brave enough to share that she was diagnosed with depression at age 15 and has previously considered taking her own life.

The pressure of school and modelling had a very negative impact on her life during her teens and eventually she was medicated and taken out of school for six months so that she could cope with how she was feeling.

In an appearance on This Morning with Philip and Holly, Delevingne shared how she hopes to use her experience to help other people who are struggling with their mental health.

She’s aware of how turbulent and troubled that adolescence can be for some young people, but sympathises with today’s teenagers who have the added pressure of social media on top of all of their other problems.

I felt it was my duty to write a book that they could really connect to.

She said that a major turning point in her struggle was realising that she shouldn’t be ashamed of how she was feeling and that there were plenty of other people out there who felt the same way.

I didn’t know how to communicate my emotions. I was so ashamed of the way I felt. Because, y’know, I have a very privileged upbringing and I’m very lucky. I went to an amazing school.  I had moments where I didn’t want to carry on living and then the guilt of feeling that way, and not being able to tell anyone…

She wants young people to know that they shouldn’t be ashamed of feeling down.

It’s exactly the same as being physically sick. When you keep all of those things inside, when you bottle them up, it makes you ill. It was important to highlight those things [in the book].

Aside from wanting young people to feel like they have someone they can relate to, she also wants to teach them that things can get better.

As someone who “has gone through it and has come out the other side”, she told Philip and Holly that she wants to teach young people:

If you do love yourself, and learn how to not give in to what other people think about you, or care what other people think about you and just follow your dreams, you can achieve anything.

There’s also a bonus appearance from her dog Leo (that she decided to bring to the studio for some reason).

If you need to talk, contact:

Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
Aware 1800 804848 (depression, anxiety)
Pieta House 1800 247247 or email mary@pieta.ie – (suicide, self-harm)
Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833634 (for ages 13 to 19)
Childline 1800 666666 (for under 18s) 

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