Camila Cabello Says She Has OCD, Experienced ‘Constant, Unwavering, Relentless Anxiety’
Camila Cabello is ready to get candid about her mental health struggles. In a new essay written for WSJ Magazine in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the singer discussed her private difficulties with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety.
Cabello started the essay by exploring the contrast between the life she presents on Instagram and the one she actually lives day to day.
“Here’s what there ?aren’t? pictures of from the last year: me crying in the car talking to my mom about how much anxiety and how many symptoms of OCD I was experiencing. My mom and me in a hotel room reading books about OCD because I was desperate for relief. Me experiencing what felt like constant, unwavering, relentless anxiety that made day-to-day life painfully hard,” Cabello wrote.
Initially, the singer said that she didn’t want to tell anyone she was struggling with her mental health because she was embarrassed. She said that she didn’t want people who thought she was strong and confident to discover that she actually felt weak. There was a little voice in her head telling her that if she was honest about the problems she was facing, people would think there was something wrong with her or that she wasn’t able to handle the issues herself.
Eventually, Cabello said she realized that the only way she would be able to deal with her mental health was by talking about it. She also discussed her symptoms, saying that the OCD manifested itself in “obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.” It also manifested physically, leaving her with a lump in her throat, difficulty sleeping, and constant headaches.
Now, Cabello said that she’s “the healthiest and most connected” to herself that she’s ever been, thanks to cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation, breathing exercises, and other techniques. She wrote that, for a long time, she felt anxiety was robbing her of joy and humor. Now, though, she’s able to deal with anxiety when it comes, and she doesn’t let it make decisions for her.
In concluding her essay, Cabello encouraged those reading to speak up about their own mental health issues and seek help if they need it. She argued that we live in a culture that values perfection and that social media only amplifies that desire. Online, it can be hard to admit everything isn’t always great when that’s the image everyone else presents.
“Far from being a sign of weakness, owning our struggles and taking the steps to heal is powerful,” the singer wrote.
