Cara Delevingne on Depression: ‘I’ve Been Through That’

Actress and model Cara Delevingne is joining the ranks of celebrities who are speaking out about mental health.

The Suicide Squad actress, who appears on ELLE Magazine’s upcoming September issue, shared how her fans inspired her to open up about her history after hearing about their own struggles.

“I couldn’t just sit there and listen to these girls, and boys, too, but usually girls, say this stuff, about bullying, about their sexuality, depression, and guilt and suicidal thoughts and just all of it, without being like, ‘I have been through that, and it’s going to be okay,’” she says.

Delevingne had discussed her challenges with depression and her career on Twitter in April, while explaining her decision to take a break from modeling.

The actress also told ELLE how she learned some lessons on emotional well-being from Suicide Squad co-star Will Smith. “[He] was telling me he brought up his kids to put their emotions first, and when I heard that, I was just like, ‘Oh my God, that sounds like a fairy tale,’” she says. “Because emotions should be put first. It’s the most important thing.”

Delevingne is one of many celebrities who have brought their private struggles with mental illness into the public sphere. Kristen Bell wrote about her history of depression for Motto in May, and Demi Lovato’s speech at the Democratic National Convention highlighted her battle with mental illness.

In a piece for Motto, Delevingne discussed how career pressures used to severely impact her well-being. She wrote that the desire for ‘validation from everyone’ was a factor in “[losing] sight of myself and what it meant to be happy, what it meant to be successful.” It was a challenge for her to change directions, but she wrote: “I’m spending more time doing the stuff I love. And I’ve been able to do better work because of it.”

Read the full interview in the September issue of ELLE.

[h/t MTV.com]