Vicky Pattinson breaks down in tears for emotional post about mental health struggles
VICKY Pattinson broke down in tears in an emotional post about her mental health struggles.
The 33-year-old star opened up about some of the lowest times in her life, to mark Mental Health Awareness Week 2021.
The reality favourite shared a series of snaps on social media, admitting she was "so terrified of appearing weak" that she hid her struggles.
Vicky wrote: "What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candour & more unashamed conversation.
"Today marks the start of National #MentalHealthAwareness week & in the spirit of encouraging important & necessary dialogues I thought I’d share with you some moments of my life where my mental health was at an all time low.
"It’s heartbreakingly obvious to see in some of these pictures that I’m struggling, the internal agony is literally etched all over my face.
"But in others, the pain is harder to spot. Why? Because as women, as human beings we are so scared of showing our vulnerabilities, so terrified of appearing weak that we hide how we are really feeling behind a mask of fake smiles & bravado.
"We put on our ‘brave face’ & do our best to act ‘normal’, as if everything is fine & most of the time we do such a good job of it no one notices a thing."
The Geordie Shore star explained that there are several reasons that someone can be affected by mental health and urged people to be "kinder".
She continued: "And that is the scary part. When these issues go unnoticed, undiscussed & ignored they thrive. They begin to grow, swelling inside of us, consuming our existence & debilitating our every move.
"Poor mental health can come in many forms & can be exacerbated by a number of things - bad break ups, lost loved ones, stressful situations, unrelenting pressure.
"None of us are immune to this struggle & it can manifest itself differently in everyone- some people become withdrawn, some people self medicate with alcohol, some people lose weight.
"Some people gain weight, some people hurt themselves.. & some people act like the loudest, most confident person in the room- it looks different on us all."
The I'm a Celeb winner also that she believes that the coronavirus pandemic will have long-term affects on our mental health.
She added: "Which is why sometimes it is so difficult to spot when someone you love is struggling.
"This pandemic is going to have a scary & long tail for this country & the ramifications on our mental health are going to be something we have to deal with for a long while after the masks are gone.
"So now more than ever I urge you to look after yourself, be kind to yourself & always, ALWAYS check on your friends & family.
"Whether it’s a text, a phone call, or dropping by to make sure they’re ok- & don’t be afraid to ask more than once. Be proud to be that friend.
"It shows you care & you do not want to see the people you love struggle alone."
Vicky was praised by a number of her celeb pals for bravely sharing her experience.
Love Island's Dr Alex George simply posted three love hearts below her post.
Reality star Shaughna Phillips wrote: "You're one tough cookie."
Presenter Gaby Roslin shared: "As always a very powerful, strong and loving post. You know I think you're awesome."
The Geordie lass recently told The Sun that she lost the "real sense" of herself during lockdown.
She said: “Everybody has felt like the last year has been super-difficult and really confusing. I lost a real sense of myself over the past year.
"It was just a really sad, hard time. Every different lockdown had its own personality, I suppose. That’s the best way I can put it.
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“The first lockdown was new and, although it was scary, it felt exciting as well, like we were all playing hooky, we were all skiving.
“But the second one blindsided us and I think everyone was too focused on Christmas to take any real notice.
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“The third one — that hit everybody like a ton of bricks. It was cold, it was dark, you couldn’t go out for nice walks, you couldn’t sit in the garden.
“We felt trapped and it just felt never-ending. So it hit a lot of people very hard. I try to stay positive. I’m quite a positive person. But it was difficult."