Lizzo, Katy Perry, Eva Longoria, Joe Jonas and more celebrities talked to us about their mental health this year. Here's what they said.
The Unwind is Yahoo Life’s well-being series in which experts, influencers and celebrities share their approaches to wellness and mental health, from self-care rituals to setting healthy boundaries to the mantras that keep them afloat.
Celebrities, they're just like us. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness — that means your favorite actors, athletes, musicians, TikTok stars and influencers struggle too. And as studies show, the more influential that figures open up and share their own mental health journeys, the more they can help to destigmatize that it's OK to not be OK. That's the premise behind Yahoo Life's interview series The Unwind — o have candid conversations with public figures about what they may be privately dealing with and to reveal the resources they have in their toolboxes that help them cope. From setting social media boundaries to walking barefoot in nature to feel connected to the earth, we've learned what helps keep people grounded. So before 2022 exits stage left, here are some of the mindful moments your favorite stars have shared with us this year.
On starting therapy and meditation
"If I did not have therapy now I probably would be doing therapy in these streets. I'd probably be talking to a whole bunch of people about things I don't need to be talking to them about."—Tiffany Haddish
"Therapy is great. Talking to my therapist and being able to open up, so I'm not just going to my partner, my brothers or friends that probably don't need to hear this. It's nice to talk to somebody, a professional."— Joe Jonas
"It's about deserving peace and happiness. I chose myself, my peace of mind. I'm very proud of myself because a few years ago, I was neglecting my mental health and a good friend of mine told me I needed therapy," she says. "One of my friends told me the importance of therapy for about four or five years. I [made excuses not to go] but he was persistent. I give him a lot of credit for his advice — and for allowing me to see the importance and guiding me in the direction [of therapy]."— Tia Mowry
I had to go to therapy — it wasn't really my choice," she tells Yahoo Life. "I tried to go to a few different therapists, and I couldn't trust any of them. And then the one therapist that I trusted was the one who just asked me, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' And I said, 'Well, I'm an actress. That's what I want to do. That's who I am.'"— Odelya Halevi
That's why I swear by Transcendental Meditation. It has changed my life, it has changed my mood. Whenever I meditate, whether that's once a day, or twice a day, it feels like I found two extra hours in the day that have come from nowhere, or that I've had a two-hour nap — but I just had a 20-minute meditation."— Katy Perry
On setting boundaries with social media
"It's a battle, it's important to be mindful of what's real and what's not. Because when you're on Instagram, and you're scrolling, and you know, this person has this, or this person booked this job, and we're judging them, or we're judging ourselves, we're comparing ourselves and I had to let that go," says Tran. "Rarely do people post their bad days or what they're going through. So everybody's life looks like glitter and gold." —Karrueche Tran
"Social media is so curated, people think that you're supposed to be, like, happy all the time," she says of talking through her feelings on her platform. "And it's like, if you're not happy all the time, why would you show that? But it's like, people act like they don't cry. People act like they're not upset about things. And the fact that I choose to show it is, for me, helpful. If it's happening to me online, I kind of wanna work it out online too, you know? It's not like a cry for help and it's not to bring any pity. It's more so to just, like, normalize it. So it is helpful for me to work things out on the internet, and I love working things out in my craft and through my creativity." — Lizzo
"I realized social media ... for me is mentally very unhealthy," he tells Yahoo Life. "I don't know about other people, but my brain is not made to look at thousands of responses to me. Even if they're all positive, it's really overwhelming. So I would say something and then you have pages and pages and pages of responses and there'll be like a hundred good ones and one negative one. The only one I would remember was the one negative one, but even all the positive ones would make me feel jangly and out of control and really outside of myself. And so I realized that social media for me by and large has been a negative." Kumail Nanjiani
On the importance of physical activity for their mental wellbeing
"I'll build anything — I don't care if it's Popsicle sticks," the father of four adds with a laugh. "Just something to take my mind off the outside world, because we're faced with so much ridicule and judgment and so many questions. At what point do you step away from that and just take care of yourself? So I use those things to kind of take care of my mental [health]." — Anthony Mackie
"For me, the way I deal with anxiety and stress is through physical activity — I know that's an easy, fortunate fix and not everyone is so lucky — but I know that if I'm able to sweat every day, it greatly diminishes the amount of anxiety or stress I feel. I also think prioritizing sleep really helps me," Nash says. "A few days or a week of bad sleep, I'm more open to stress or anxiety affecting my days. For me, getting exercise — particularly through the things I love to do and I love to play soccer and tennis — changes my mood, limits my anxiety. It gives me energy!"— Steve Nash
On breaking harmful stigmas
"Being a young man, it's always harder to express yourself in that way because of the taboo and stigma behind it. As young men, we're taught a different way of communicating that actually hinders our evolution and our progress," he says. "I think men or boys hear the word 'vulnerable' and they look at it as weakness. Whereas pinpointing what's bothering you, and where anxiety lies, can actually be a superpower." — Kevin Love
"I think for so long, especially Black women always hold up everybody else, and we forget about ourselves. And so I think when women in sisterhood tell each other it's okay to let go for a while, there's something about giving somebody permission."—Tika Sumpter
"I never thought in a million years that I would be on camera [in my underwear], but I let it happen," she explains of the shoot. "It happened. I looked at it and I realized, this is beautiful. I'm beautiful. And I should always see myself this way when I'm looking at myself, if it's a reflection, on a screen, or if I'm looking at myself in the mirror. So that was one of the biggest moments for me, regarding vulnerability. I think I've made a huge step … It was great."—Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
On the importance of getting outside
"A really important technique is to do grounding work, where you're just in nature barefoot and you can really connect with the Earth and the vibrations," she says. "I know it sounds really 'woo woo,' but I think it's so important to connect back to where we are, who we are, and to just kind of close off all of your brain other than just like your senses. How do you feel the ground? What do you hear in the air? What do you smell? What can you see?"—Sarah Hyland
"Grateful to live in Colorado where I have nature at my back door," the actress adds. "I can have a really hectic day of meetings and the such and these computers and these devices always in our faces. It's great because we get a lot done and we can be really productive, but unwinding and stepping away, for me, is taking a walk. I like to just take a walk, and I like to wind through the trees or into an open field. I like to feel my feet on the ground. I like to lay on my back and look up and see the clouds float by. I like to kind of absorb the energy of the earth into my body and vice versa." —Hillary Swank
"I have my regular checkups; they're on the calendar at least six months in advance. I eat extremely well. I'm not a vegetarian, but I do eat a lot of good fish and very little meat. I eat fantastic vegetables that I grow myself, and delicious eggs right out of my chicken coop. I live on a farm, which I think is one of the healthiest lifestyles there is because when I get up in the morning, I can go outside and breathe fresh air. I can plant some flowers or pick some vegetables and make a green juice that is utterly delicious, which really helps with the maintenance of good skin, good hair and strong bones."—Martha Stewart
On giving yourself grace and time to rest
"This little permission slip — as soon as I saw it, I instantly wrote down 'forgiveness' because that's something I still need to work on," Phelps, who lives in Arizona, tells Yahoo Life. "I need to be myself more. I need to take more self-care more often. Those small things, when you write that — when you write something down — it is so so so much more powerful than we can even imagine." —Michael Phelps
"I love to say no, actually, more than yes," she shares. "I say no to a lot of things, and I'm OK with it. You know, some people are very nervous to say no: no to family, no to friends, no to a project, no to an opportunity. ... If I'm not investing the time in my family or spending it wisely, then the answer is no." —Eva Longoria
"I would rather have an off-day and a day that's crazy scheduled than two moderately scheduled days," Parker says decidedly. "For me, when I'm enjoying the day off, I'm able to reflect and [appreciate] the reward of a crazy day. I also like knowing what's going on. A couple of years ago, I started relying heavily on my calendar — so I can now prepare for the crazy day. I know it's coming!" — Candace Parker
On the importance of mindset shifts
"You've got to be ready," she says of psyching herself up for a match. "I've worked my whole life for these moments. ... I don't succeed in all of them, but at the end of the day, I've gotta think I'm good enough." — Serena Williams
"I can get overwhelmed, but I try to remind myself that there are so many worse things in the world right now, and these are little tiny things that in the big picture do not matter." —Rachel Bilson
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