Although there’s still stigma that unfortunately surrounds it, nearly 1 in 5 Americans struggle with mental illness every year. That means that about 42.5 million American adults struggle with mental illness of some form. Sometimes it helps to think about the people that are getting through it, just like you. These celebrities want you to know that they are struggling and fighting too.
1. Jared Padalecki
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The Supernatural and Gilmore Girls star was diagnosed with clinical depression after a breakdown on set during season three of Supernatural. Padalecki did not hide the situation from his fans. Last year, he launched his T-shirt campaign, Always Keep Fighting, to support To Write Love on Her Arms in raising awareness for mental illness. Padalecki has lost friends to suicide and wants his campaign to encourage people to keep fighting and reach out for help.
2. Olivia Munn
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The X-Men: Apocalypse star admitted in 2012 that she suffers from anxiety and an “impulse control” disorder, trichotillomania. Munn revealed her disorder to bring more light to it for other sufferers. People with the disorder feel an urge to pull out their hair and Munn claims that she pulls out her eyelashes.
3. Demi Lovato
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The singer and actress has become one of the most outspoken mental illness advocates after she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2011. She encourages others to speak up to spread awareness about their illnesses and give others comfort in the knowledge that they are not alone. Lovato talks a lot about her own diagnosis, what it meant to her, and how she is more than her illness.
4. Angelina Jolie
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Jolie revealed in 2010 that she began cutting herself when she was 14 years old. She suffered from depression throughout her childhood and teen years and felt constant pressure to succeed throughout her life. She describes her depression as having a feeling of emptiness and she only found ways to fill that emptiness in her adult life when she began her humanitarian work.
5. Leonardo DiCaprio
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The Academy Award winner, who is fairly private about his life, admitted that he suffers from OCD and worries about it taking over his life. He feels compulsions to step on every chewing gum stain when he’s walking on the street and he fights not to walk through a door way several times.
6. Hayden Panettiere
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After having her daughter in 2014, Panettiere suffered from postpartum depression. She’s spoken openly about her own struggle and how there’s a big spectrum for mothers with this form of depression. In May 2016, she announced that she continues to struggle and has decided to continue seeking treatment for her illness.
7. Catherine Zeta-Jones
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The Oscar winner did not tell the public about her bipolar II disorder until she was 42. Although she claims that she “never wanted to be the poster child” for her illness, she is open about her struggles today, after seeking treatment in 2011 and returning in 2013.
8. Carrie Fisher
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Fisher came back in the public eye with the return of her character, Princess Leia, with the new Star Wars installments. However, throughout her career, Fisher has been very open about her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Like Zeta-Jones, she does not want to be the “poster child” for the illness, mainly because she believes in defining the illness, not letting it define her.
9. Jon Hamm
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The Mad Men star began his struggle with depression after the death of his father when he was 20. Hamm claims that three things helped him recover: his friends at college, therapy, and antidepressants. He believes that having the structure of school and his friends encouraging him helped him overcome his struggles. He also admits, though, that therapy and antidepressants helped him get up in the morning.
10. Brooke Shields
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The model and actress spoke out about the severity of her postpartum depression after hearing an interview that Tom Cruise gave in which he stated that Shields was only masking her problem with antidepressants. Shields immediately fired back and said that there was a point after childbirth that where she considered suicide and her antidepressants helped her through that time. She stated that Cruise’s claims were “a disservice to mothers everywhere.”
11. J.K. Rowling
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The author admitted that she was struggling with depression when she wrote the first Harry Potter book. Today, she reaches out to fans to encourage them to fight back against depression. Earlier this year, Rowling found a series of distressing tweets by a fan who appeared depressed and possibly suicidal. She wrote back to tell her that she was a valuable human being and she must fight back against the “dementors” of depression.
12. Pete Wentz
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The Fall Out Boy bassist has been taking medication for bipolar disorder since he was 18. He suffered from prescription drug addiction, but says that turning to family has helped him overcome his illnesses. He says that through therapy and taking care of his son, Bronx, he has learned to pay more attention to his disorder so he knows when he’s “on the roller coaster and control it more.”