Cara Delevingne Talks Battle With Depression She’s Waged Since Age 15

Cara Delevingne appears to have a picture-perfect life. During an interview last week, the super model said things aren’t always as they seem. “In our culture we are told that if we are be...
Cara Delevingne Talks Battle With Depression She’s Waged Since Age 15
Written by Kimberly Ripley
  • Cara Delevingne appears to have a picture-perfect life. During an interview last week, the super model said things aren’t always as they seem.

    “In our culture we are told that if we are beautiful, if we are skinny, if we are successful, famous, if we fit in, if everyone loves us, that we’ll be happy. But that’s not entirely true,” she explained.

    Cara Delevingne went on to say she has suffered from depression since she was just 15 years old.

    “I really wanted to do well at school to please my parents, to please my family,” she said. “I didn’t really care that much about school because I knew I was never going to be very good at it. I think I pushed myself so far, I got to the point where I had a bit of a mental breakdown.”

    At one point Delevingne even contemplated suicide.

    “I got to the point where I was a bit mad. I was completely suicidal, didn’t want to live anymore,” she said. “I thought that I was completely alone. I also realized how lucky I was and what a wonderful family, wonderful friends I had, but that didn’t matter. I wanted the world to swallow me up, and nothing seemed better to me than death.”

    Cara Delevingne admits she has suffered bouts of depression since becoming a super model, too.

    “I eventually took a break, to the advice of Kate Moss who picked me up off the floor at a very stressful time,” she said.

    Turning to yoga and writing, Cara Delevingne made great strides.

    “It was like, I would write and I would read what I’d written, and it was like someone else is talking to me…it was like, ‘What? Is that how I feel?’ It was a very strange experience,” the Paper Towns actress explained.

    These days Delevingne feels good, but she wants other young women to know there’s no shame in seeking treatment for depression.

    “My message has always been to accept yourself no matter what, to love yourself, to embrace your flaws,” she said. “I think flaws are things that make us special. The cracks within us are the beautiful parts that need to have light shed on them.”

    Does it surprise you that someone with so much going for them–like Cara Delevingne–could suffer from depression? The illness doesn’t discriminate, and can impact anyone–even those who seemingly have it all.

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