‘There are times I need to go into a quiet space and shut the door’: MasterChef’s Melissa Leong reveals how she copes with her clinical depression while on set – after suffering a breakdown
MasterChef Australia: Back To Win judge Melissa Leong has revealed she suffers from clinical depression, and has had a breakdown in the past.
The 40-year-old made the admission in the upcoming podcast We Are the Real Ones, as reported by The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.
The former cookbook editor also explained how she copes with her mental health issues on the high pressure cooking show.
Honest: MasterChef Australia: Back To Win judge Melissa Leong (pictured) has revealed she suffers from clinical depression, and has had a breakdown in the past. The 40-year-old made the admission in the upcoming podcast We Are the Real Ones
Melissa said: ‘There are some times when I just need to go into a quiet space and shut the door and have half an hour to myself.
‘If I need a day like that where I just need that little bubble of time, it could be 10 minutes, I will tell them and they will find the next available opportunity for me to just have a minute.
‘It doesn’t take long, it could just be five minutes, just to kind of be quiet and then you gather yourself and keep going’.
The former cookbook editor explained how she copes with her mental health issues on the high pressure show: ‘There are some times when I just need to go into a quiet space and shut the door and have half an hour to myself,’ she said
Melissa said the show is understanding: ‘If I need a day like that where I just need that little bubble of time, it could be 10 minutes, I will tell them and they will find the next available opportunity for me to just have a minute,’ she said. Pictured with Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo
The talented cook went on to admit that she has suffered a breakdown in her past, and is now insistent on taking care of her mental health.
She said: ‘I started going to therapy in my early to mid 20s. I had a breakdown, I’ll be really honest. I don’t hide it but I don’t advertise that either.
‘It has been part of my life and my story. It was an instance of too much on the plate and the plate ended up breaking under the weight of all those things.’
The food critic went on to admit that she has suffered a breakdown in her past, and is now insistent on taking care of her mental health: ‘I started going to therapy in my early to mid 20s. I had a breakdown, I’ll be really honest. I don’t hide it but I don’t advertise that either,’ she said
It comes after Melissa explained how she copes with negative criticism online after taking on the role of new judge on the popular Channel Ten culinary competition.
Speaking to TV Week magazine on Monday, Melissa said it was important to remember that no-one is ‘universally’ loved.
‘When you can accept that, you can just focus on being the best version of yourself,’ she told the publication.
Strong: It comes after Melissa explained how she copes with negative criticism online after taking on the role of new judge on the popular Channel Ten culinary competition
She went on explain that her approach to dealing with publicity was just to focus on herself.
‘My strategy for being in this very public space is just to focus on what I do well,’ she said. ‘Be grateful for the positive aspects of what happens and just own who I am.’
Melissa went on to say that despite her confidence, she has trouble being ‘comfortable’ in her own skin.
MasterChef continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten
Open: Melissa said it was important to remember that no-one is ‘universally’ loved. ‘When you can accept that, you can just focus on being the best version of yourself,’ she said