T.I.’s daughter Deyjah Harris bravely speaks about issues with depression, anxiety and suicide: ‘I also repeatedly had thoughts of me not being here anymore’
- Social media influencer said she’s dealt with issues the last seven years
- Harris remains optimistic amid the ongoing personal struggles
- Deyjah was in the headlines last year after it was revealed T.I. had taken her to a doctor for annual virginity exams
WARNING: Story contains references to suicide
Deyjah Harris, the 18-year-old daughter of rapper T.I., opened up about past issues she’s had in relation to depression and anxiety in a YouTube clip Tuesday.
‘Transparently speaking, depression and anxiety is something that I’ve been dealing with since about the age of 11,’ she said, filling viewers in on details of her past that related to the issue.
‘My self-esteem started to become an issue for me in the sixth grade due to bullying,’ she said. ‘I started to struggle with understanding what it was that I was feeling and I definitely knew that I wasn’t able to express what it was that I was going through.’
The latest: Deyjah Harris, the 18-year-old daughter of rapper T.I., opened up about past issues she’s had in relation to depression and anxiety in a YouTube clip Tuesday
Harris said that amid the pain, she took on ‘self-inflicted coping mechanisms’ that hindered her growth.
She said that, at times, she’s had suicidal thoughts.
‘There have been multiple times where I couldn’t really envision the evolution of myself due to the fact that I just felt really unmotivated,’ she said, ‘and I also repeatedly had thoughts of me not being here anymore.’
Harris said that she’s carried the difficult feelings into her early adulthood: ‘The way that I viewed depression and anxiety at 11 is way more different than I experience it now at 18; in other words, it hasn’t gotten easier for me.
Reveal: Harris said that depression and anxiety is something that she’s been dealing with since the age of 11
Candid: Harris said that amid the pain, she took on ‘self-inflicted coping mechanisms’ that hindered her growth
‘It seems as though any time my depression might come back … it just kind of comes crashing down on me 10 times harder than it did the last time.’
Harris said that she remains optimistic amid the ongoing personal struggles.
‘Please don’t let this give you the idea that you won’t get better,’ Harris said. ‘It’s really just about healing you and your inner child to prevent any open wounds from carrying into adulthood.’
Harris said she’s past kept mum about the issue in an effort to protect herself.
She also talked about the clip on Instagram, writing in a caption, ‘No matter what challenges you deal with, no matter where you are with your recovery, no matter how flawed you might be, there is nothing that needs to be added or taken away from who you are as a person.’
Expressing herself: She also talked about the clip in an extended Instagram caption
Forging ahead: Harris said that she remains optimistic amid the ongoing personal struggles
A look back: The daughter of the Blurred Lines rapper and Tameka ‘Tiny’ Harris was in the headlines last year after it was revealed he’d taken her to a doctor for annual virginity exams. T.I. was snapped in Atlanta last year
She noted that ‘mental illness doesn’t discriminate,’ as ‘you’ll never be the exception to recovery so just remember to treat yourself warmly’ and ‘eventually, every experience will get you exactly where you’re destined to be and it’ll all make sense.’
The daughter of the Blurred Lines rapper and Tameka ‘Tiny’ Harris was in the headlines last year after it was revealed he’d taken her to a doctor for annual virginity exams. He later apologized to her for the remarks.
If you or anyone you know needs to talk, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here.