Hannah Brown admits she struggles with anxiety and depression as she reminds fans it’s OK to ‘ask for help’ on their mental health journeys
Hannah Brown admitted she has struggled with anxiety and depression with an Instagram post where she twirled around a room to commemorate World Mental Health Day.
The 26-year-old reality TV star started the conversation with a simple visit to her doctor’s office and reminded her fans that it’s OK to ‘ask for help’ on their mental health journeys.
Hannah found fame vying for Colton Underwood’s heart on The Bachelor before earning The Bachelorette title and looking for love on her own terms in season 15.
Honest: Hannah Brown admitted she struggled with anxiety and depression with an Instagram post where she twirled around a room to commemorate World Mental Health Day
She recalled a medical professional asking a question she wasn’t prepared to answer: ‘Are you happy, Hannah?’
‘I will never forget that seemingly simple question that came with a heavy answer,’ she wrote. ‘I’m the girl that is always wearing a smile! How dare he ask?! But oh, thank God he did,’ she added.
‘”No…. I’m not. I don’t even remember the last time I felt happy. And I don’t know why. I have reason to be happy, but I just can’t really feel it,” I said through broken words passing through the lumps of emotions that had felt indefinitely lodged in my throat,’ she added.
‘I couldn’t keep up the act anymore. For years, I silently struggled internally as I was externally championed as the one who always seemed happy.
Tough: The 26-year-old reality star started the conversation with a simple visit to her doctor’s office and reminded her fans that it’s OK to ‘ask for help’ on their mental health journeys
Open: Hannah found fame vying for Colton Underwood’s heart on The Bachelor before earning The Bachelorette title and looking for love on her own terms in season 15
‘I honestly think that day in the doctor’s office was the first time someone asked me if I was indeed, happy.’
Brown went on to compete in and win season 28 of Dancing With The Stars in 2019 with partner Alan Bersten.
‘Admitting I wasn’t okay, and acknowledging my silent, hostage struggle with anxiety and depression through my crocodile tears was a pivotal day for me,’ she wrote. ‘I have made big leaps of progress in healing and understanding ‘its okay not to be okay’, with important tools and support to help manage the thoughts and feelings that take over and store within me.
Brown went on to compete in and win season 28 of Dancing With The Stars in 2019 with partner Alan Bersten; seen in November
‘But several times in my progress, I have had setbacks; many being the overflow of not observing, in private, the gradual buildup of the hurtful, impactful emotions which consequently spewed into some, more public, relapses of destructive behavior.’
She noted it’s important to remember that ‘progress in mental health is a journey with hills and valleys. Our whole world has been through a valley of fear and hurt this year. Be gentle with yourself. Be humble during the process. You aren’t going to always get it right and you will make mistakes, but you—just as you are, are enough.
‘You matter. Ask for help. You are worthy of being able to answer the ‘are you happy?’ question and to say yes, regardless of the circumstances that would usually take your mind and soul captive. You got this. We’ve got this. You aren’t alone.’
‘You matter. Ask for help. You are worthy of being able to answer the ‘are you happy?’ question and to say yes, regardless of the circumstances that would usually take your mind and soul captive. You got this. We’ve got this. You aren’t alone.’