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Willow Smith has been thrust into the public eye not just because she's the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, but also due to her career as a recording artist. The now-17-year-old was only nine when her song 'Whip My Hair' blew up, going platinum in the US.

Following the release of the popular single, the singer felt she was in a 'black hole'. Her mental state eventually drove her to self-harm.

"It was after that whole Whip My Hair thing and I had just stopped doing singing lessons and I was kind of just in this grey area of, 'Who am I? Do I have a purpose? Is there anything I can do besides this?'" Willow explained to her mother and grandmother, Adrienne Banfield-Norrison, on the web series Red Table Talk.

"After the tour and the promotion and all of that, they wanted me to finish my album, and I was like, 'No. I’m not gonna do that.'"

 

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The I Am Legend actress continued, "And after all of that kinda settled down and it was like a kind of lull, I was just listening to a lot of dark music. It was just so crazy and I was plunged into this black hole, and I was cutting myself."

Jada and Adrienne were shocked by the revelation, and Willow's mum said she 'never saw any signs' of her daughter's struggle with self-harm.

Willow admitted that, until now, she had only told one friend about it.

"I never talk about it because it was such a short, weird point in my life," the teenager said, "But you have to pull yourself out of it."

She stopped cutting after she thought to herself one night, 'This is actually psychotic'.

Willow is certainly not alone in this issue, either. "A lot of adolescent girls struggle with self-harm," she said.

Indeed, the Irish Examiner reports that nearly 2,700 children here in Ireland are waiting to see Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and while not all if them self-harm, these children need treatment.

In fact, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services saw a 10 percent rise in the number of kids waiting over 12 months for an appointment. Mental health issues, including self-harm, affect children regardless of their background.

We wish Willow the best as she heals, and hope that her story helps raise awareness of how young people are impacted by self-harm.

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Kristen Bell has always been open about her struggle with mental health. 

Having previously spoken publicly about the depression she suffered as a teenager and the ongoing battles that followed, the actress is determined to break the stigma that surrounds the issue. 

In a new video for the Child Mind Institute, the 37-year-old shared the advice she would have given to her younger self. 

“What I would say to my younger self is don’t be fooled by this game of perfection that humans play,” she said. 

“Because Instagram and magazines and TV shows, they strive for a certain aesthetic, everything looks so beautiful, and people seem like they don’t have problems, but everyone’s human.”

She went on to stress the importance of self-love and care, even when we are at our lowest points. 

“You deserve to feel just as beautiful on the days you wear no makeup, and the days you don’t shower, and the days you feel like you’re depressed,” she said. 

“You have an obligation to take care of yourself from the inside out, because that’s how you can truly feel beautiful.”

Urging those suffering with mental health issues to seek help, Kristen assured viewers that they are never alone. 

“There are resources out there, if you’re feeling anxious, of people to talk to and doctors to interact with and there are tons of solutions out there for you,” she said. 

“You are not alone. Never feel embarrassed or ashamed about who you are.

“Never feel embarrassed or ashamed about the uniqueness that is you, because there are people out there to help and we’re all just human, and you can do it.”

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As the number of children diagnosed with anxiety has risen in recent years, so has the need for prominent figures to speak out and reduce the stigma of having anxiety.

An advocate has come forward, and he's quite unexpected. From his smooth demeanour to his quick comebacks, Ryan Reynolds always seems at ease.

However, in a recent New York Times profile, the Deadpool star revealed that he's struggled with anxiety for his entire career.

The Canadian actor is gripped with nausea and fear before every talk show appearance. This sense of dread can build up to the extent that he is convinced at the moment that he may die.

 

I own nothing in this photo. Except that gin company. @aviationgin

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“I have anxiety, I’ve always had anxiety,” Ryan revealed, “Both in the lighthearted ‘I’m anxious about this’ kind of thing, and I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun.”

His quick wit, which has made him a sensation on social media, has often been his primary form of self-protection in stressful situations.

The Definitely, Maybe star's strained relationship with his father Jim, a former police officer, partially led Ryan to develop this unconventional defence mechanism.

His father was a 'the stress dispensary in our house', Ryan noted: "I became this young skin-covered micromanager. When you stress out kids, there’s a weird paradox that happens because they’re suddenly taking on things that aren’t theirs to take on.”

Jim was also quite the character though, and introduced his son to comedy icons like Buster Keaton and Jack Benny. Through this, Ryan learned that every difficult moment has an element to it that can be made laughable.

Then, when Ryan got into his early 20s, he entered a phased that he characterises as 'unhinged'

“I was partying and just trying to make myself vanish in some way,” he admits.

Things are better these days, though. The father-of-two uses specific coping mechanisms to deal with his anxiety in a constructive way.

Often he does interviews in character as Deadpool, who is overly confident and perpetually wise-cracking (sound familiar?).

As well, the 41-year-old uses the meditation app Headspace before entering anxiety-inducing situations.

Finally, he says, “When the curtain opens, I turn on this knucklehead, and he kind of takes over and goes away again once I walk off set."

“That’s that great self-defence mechanism," Ryan reflected, "I figure if you’re going to jump off a cliff, you might as well fly.”

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So, if you've ever been cheated on you'll know all to well the toll it can take on your general wellbeing. 

Sad, lonely, hurt and confused, you'll ask yourself if it was something you did?

Of course the answers is no, and according to a new study, even asking yourself this question could be effecting you physically as well as mentally.

Researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno, surveyed 232 third-level students who had been cheated in the last three months, with the aim of finding out how their behaviours and mental health had been affected by their partners infidelity.

Speaking to PsyPost, M. Rosie Shrout, lead author of the study, explained, “We wanted to know if this emotional and psychological distress leads them to engage in risky health behaviours, such as unprotected sex, drug use, alcohol use, binge eating, or not eating at all.”

She added, “We were also interested in whether perceptions of blame played a role in their psychological distress and risky health behaviours.”

Results found that having an unfaithful partner can significantly affect your behaviour, your view of cheating and above all, your ability to trust.

Researchers also found that those who are worse effected are more likely to turn to alcohol and drugs, or develop eating disorders.

“Being cheated on seems to not only have mental health consequences, but also increases risky behaviours,” Shrout said.

“We also found that people who blamed themselves for their partner cheating, such as feeling like it was their fault or they could have stopped it, were more likely to engage in risky behaviours.”

It seems that damaged self-esteem may lower ones inhibitions toward risky behaviours, which may ultimately lead to poor physical and mental health.

However, it's important to note that the average age of participants was 20-years-old, meaning the results may be different for older age groups.  

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Despite many young adults often seen to be enjoying active social lives, a new study has found that they are actually more likely to experience feelings of loneliness when compared to every other age group. 

The research found that almost 10 per cent of people aged between 16 and 24 admitted to feeling lonely "always or often" – more than three times higher than people aged 65 and over. 

One theory behind the figures, is that older people could become "resilient" to the sense of isolation, with researchers explaining that these types of feelings "tend to decrease with age." 

"It's possible that people become more resilient to loneliness as they get older, possibly through the experience of significant life events and life transitions," says the study.

Some reports suggest that social media could be to blame for the increasing loneliness among young people. 

According to bbc.com, Cal Strode, of the Mental Health Foundation, explained:

 "Teens can have thousands of friends online and yet feel unsupported and isolated. Technology, including social media, could be exacerbating social isolation." 

What's more, women were consistently more likely to report loneliness than men across all age groups. 

However, it was noted that these figures could reflect a reluctance among men to express their emotions. 

People who were single, middle-aged, living alone, and those with poor health also reported high levels of loneliness. 

Meanwhile, people who were older, male, living with a partner, working, homeowners, and those in good health were found to be the least lonely. 

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Former Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts has opened up about her father's suicide in a heartbreaking Instagram post. 

Sharing a throwback photo of her and her father, Pat, enjoying the sun, Ashley told her followers how she had been "in a state of shock, confusion, questioning" and "pain" since her father took his own life on March 19. 

The 36-year-old wrote: “With great sadness in my heart, I wanted to share with you that on the 19th of March – after a long battle of physical and mental heath – My father took his own life.

 

With great sadness in my heart, I wanted to share with you that on the 19th of March – after a long battle of physical and mental heath – My father took his own life . . The past 3.5 weeks I’ve been in a state of shock, confusion, questioning, pain so deep in my guts it’s been hard to come up for air. . . Feeling like I don’t know how to move forward from here. What am I supposed to do with all this? For now, I sit here with this pain – Inviting it ALL in. To teach me, to heal me, to rebuild me. . . If any of you have gone through something similar. I understand and my heart goes out to you. . . I will be sharing more on this in the next days, weeks, months to come – as raising awareness here and outreach for those left behind is so so so important . But for now I am grateful for your love and support. Ash

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“The past 3.5 weeks I’ve been in a state of shock, confusion, questioning, pain so deep in my guts it’s been hard to come up for air.

“Feeling like I don’t know how to move forward from here. What am I supposed to do with all this? For now, I sit here with this pain – inviting it all in. To teach me, to heal me, to rebuild me.

“If any of you have gone through something similar. I understand and my heart goes out to you.”

Fans have offered their condolences in the comment section, with many encouraging the singer turned TV star to "stay strong."

Pat was 70-years-old, and used to be the drummer for the Mamas & The Papas on the 1960s. 

After leaving the group, he continued to in the music industry as a session drummer before investing his money in a used car business. 

However, according to reports, after being faced with huge financial difficulties, Pat was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2005. 

Speaking about her family in a 2014 interview, Ashley explained how they were in a good place. 

"My family have a lot of love. They've supported me my whole life in what I do.

"Sometimes family members go through things and argue a lot. But everything's a lot better now," she added.

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While mental health issues are being discussed more and more often in public forums, stigma still remains that can lead people to feel alone when they most need help.

Pop icon Mariah Carey is certainly familiar with this feeling of isolation.

She takes medication and goes to therapy for bipolar II disorder, which involves it involves at least one episode of major depression and at least one episode of hypomania (less severe than a full manic episode, but still disrupts sleep and involves hyperactivity).

However, she hasn't always felt comfortable with her diagnosis.

When she first discovered she was bipolar back in 2001, “I didn’t want to believe it,” Mariah told People.

Thankfully, the Grammy Award-winner is now receiving the treatment she needs after what she has deemed 'the hardest couple of years I’ve been through'.

 

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“Until recently I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me. It was too heavy a burden to carry and I simply couldn’t do that anymore," the mum admitted. 

"I sought and received treatment, I put positive people around me and I got back to doing what I love — writing songs and making music.”

The singer says that between therapy and medication, she's feeling like she has found balance in her life.

“I’m actually taking medication that seems to be pretty good. It’s not making me feel too tired or sluggish or anything like that. Finding the proper balance is what is most important,” Mariah said.

 

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The singer explained that at first, she thought she had a severe sleep disorder.

“But it wasn’t normal insomnia and I wasn’t lying awake counting sheep," the vocal sensation recalled.

"I was working and working and working … I was irritable and in constant fear of letting people down. It turns out that I was experiencing a form of mania. Eventually, I would just hit a wall.

"I guess my depressive episodes were characterised by having very low energy. I would feel so lonely and sad — even guilty that I wasn’t doing what I needed to be doing for my career.”

 

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Now, though, Mariah says she is 'in a really good place right now, where I’m comfortable discussing my struggles with bipolar II disorder'.

"I’m hopeful we can get to a place where the stigma is lifted from people going through anything alone," she told People. 

"It can be incredibly isolating. It does not have to define you and I refuse to allow it to define me or control me.”

We are happy to hear that Mariah is doing well, and we're sure her story is giving hope to others dealing with their own mental health.

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Sleep deprivation, anxiety, and worries about finances – these are just some of the concerns Irish workers reported in a new study highlighting the significant wellbeing issues that exist among the country's work force. 

It's a scene that has become all too common in workplaces across the country, with more and more employees feeling the mental effect of the stresses of modern working life. 

Laya healthcare collated results from 13,266 health screenings carried out across industry sectors. 

Result show a high level of distress among workers, with 80 per cent admitting that lack of sleep has affected their energy and mood in the past month, while one in five said that sleep deprivation was an ongoing issue. 

With that, 53 per cent said they experience General Anxiety "some" or "most days", meaning that more than half of Irish workers are struggling with mental health issues on a daily basis. 

When it comes to financial stability, 24 per cent said they were "often barely managing" from pay day to pay day. 

Commenting on the findings, Patricia Hyland, Director of Wellbeing and Corporate Sales at laya healthcare, says that emotional health and wellbeing is now the single biggest driver of Health & Wellbeing Programmes in companies and it’s all about the data for employers:

“We are being asked more frequently now by clients how we can help them improve the emotional wellbeing of their employees and how can we measure an uplift in happiness and wellbeing in the workplace. With our technology, we can now deliver anonymised data points that give a revealing 360-degree view on the health and wellbeing of a company." 

The results come ahead of National Workplace Welling Day on Friday, April 13, which aims to promote workplace health and wellbeing among Irish businesses. 

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Now more than ever, people are starting to realise that none is immune to mental health issues. In fact, figures from Mental Health Ireland indicate that one in four of us is likely to experience poor mental during our lifetime, ranging from general everyday worries or low periods in your life, to more serious long-term conditions. 

Poor mental health can manifest in a variety of ways, be that anxiety, depression, bipolar, eating disorders, or a combination of one or more of the above, and the response to such conditions can differ from person to person. 

It is that broad spectrum of symptoms, signs, and often unpredictable reactions, that make it such a difficult illness to understand, and now sufferers have taken to Twitter to share the things they wish people knew about mental health

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Sometimes the hustle and bustle of living in a major city can get us down. 

Luckily, if you're a Dublin resident, there are plenty of natural areas and parks to enjoy a stroll in – which a new paper has found greatly improves mental health. 

Urban Mind: Using Smartphone Technologies to Investigate the impact of Nature on Mental Wellbeing in Real Time found that people derive a subconscious mood boost from taking in nature. 

The researchers actually found that getting outside can have mood lifting benefits for hours after.

'The results showed significant immediate and time lagged associations with mental wellbeing for several natural features: trees, the sky and birdsong.'

'These associations were still evident several hours after exposure to trees, the sky and birdsong had taken place, indicating time-lasting benefits.'

So, getting out and about to your nearest park or walking trail could leave you reaping the benefits hours after you've hung up your coat on your return. 

'These findings suggest that short-term exposure to nature has a measurable beneficial impact on mental wellbeing,' said Dr Andrea Mechelli, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London. 

'It suggests that nature could be especially beneficial to those individuals who are at risk of poor mental health.'

So, seeing as it's International Day of Happiness, maybe taking a friend for a walk could be a good way to spread good vibes. 

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Demi Lovato just celebrated six years of sobriety, and to celebrate, she made a heart-wrenching speech to fans about her struggles. 

According to Billboard, the singer made the speech during her concert in New York. 

The star has always been open about her history of bulimia and bipolar disorder. 

 

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'Yesterday, six years ago, I was drinking vodka out of a Sprite bottle at 9 in the morning, throwing up in the car,' she told fans.  

'And I just remember thinking, ‘This is no longer cute. This is no longer fun.'

'So I took a look at my life and I said, "Something has to change, I’ve got to get sober" — so I did.'

 

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'I made changes in my life, and the reason I became so open about my story is because I know that there are people here tonight that need to ask for help, and I want you to know that that’s okay.'

'Mental health is something that we all need to talk about, and we need to take the stigma away from it. So let’s raise the awareness.'

'Let’s let everybody know it’s okay to have a mental illness, it’s okay to have an addiction problem. I’m bipolar — like, whatever! I take care of myself.'

 

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Demi then took the time to thank her fans for all of their loyal support.

'I can never say ‘Thank you’ enough to you guys for the support that you’ve given me over the years, and you’ve forgiven me for my mistakes.'

'Thank you for being a part of saving my life. I love you guys.'

Hear hera Demi, hear hear. 

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Selena Gomez serves as such a powerful role model for fans of all ages, largely because of her honesty about her own mental health.

The 25-year-old took a career break in 2016 after experiencing depression and anxiety as side effects of her recent lupus diagnosis, showing the importance of being attentive to our mental wellbeing.

The singer's struggle with her mental health won't have some picture-perfect movie moment when it all dissipates, Selena said in a recent interview with Harper's Bazaar.

 

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'I’ve had a lot of issues with depression and anxiety, and I’ve been very vocal about it, but it’s not something I feel I’ll ever overcome,' the Wizards of Waverly Place actress told Harper's Bazaar.

'There won’t be a day when I’m like, 'Here I am in a pretty dress—I won!' I think it’s a battle I’m gonna have to face for the rest of my life, and I’m okay with that because I know that I’m choosing myself over anything else.'

The pop star is making her personal well-being her central focus in 2018, saying: 'I’m starting my year off with that thought.'

 

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'I want to make sure I’m healthy. If that’s good, everything else will fall into place.'

Considering how young much of her fan base is, Selena is definitely stepping away from the picture perfect facade many celebrities use, and showing fans the reality of her mental health battle can only be a positive. 

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