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| Her comments are so relatable. |
By Andrea Park, Self
If you thought it wasn't possible to love Gina Rodriguez any more than you already do, think again.
The Jane the Virgin star proved this weekend that she's more than just a kickass champion of body positivity—she's also working to break the stigma around mental health.
Rodriguez
posted a video on Instagram on Friday in which she looks straight at
the camera—sans makeup—for a full 10 seconds. The clip is part of the
"Ten Second Portraits" project by Norwegian artist Anton Soggiu, a friend of Rodriguez's. In her caption, the actress explains how she can see her anxiety playing out over her face but resolves to love and accept herself just as she is.
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"It's
always great to be in front of [Soggiu's] lens but this time it was
just me...No makeup. No styling. Just me," she wrote. "I suffer from
anxiety. And watching this clip I could see how anxious I was but I
empathize with myself. I wanted to protect her and tell her it's ok to
be anxious, there is nothing different or strange about having anxiety
and I will prevail."
Rodriguez, 32,
ended on a sweet, optimistic note: "I like watching this video. It makes
me uncomfortable but there is a freedom I feel maybe even an
acceptance. This is me. Puro Gina."
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And last year, in an Instagram
post, Rodriguez wrote about prioritizing her individual journey to being
healthy and strong instead of worrying about fitting into some
impossible societal mold. "Beauty should not be chased but individually
embraced. Health belongs to you and looks different for everyone," she
wrote. "In a society where we are bombarded by limited images of what
defines beauty and strength I am so grateful for those redefining and
expanding those images."
Rodriguez isn't the only celeb to discuss mental health in recent months. Lena Dunham and Emma Stone
have both partnered up with the Child Mind Institute to star in PSAs in
which they shared their journeys with mental health. "I truly, as a
kid, did not think I would ever be able to move away from home or be
apart from people [who supported me]," Stone said at the time. Dunham,
too, remembered learning to cope with anxiety as a child: "I would tell
my younger self that there's no shame in asking a teacher for help,
telling a friend that you're uncomfortable, and that it's just the same
as falling down and scraping your knee."
Related:
- Why We Don’t Talk About Mental Health in the Black Community—and Why We Have to Start
- Kesha Says Social Media 'Fed' Her Anxiety, Depression, and Eating Disorder
- How Changing My Running Pace Helped Me Manage My Anxiety and Depression
