2017 was not an easy year for many of us. For women with mental health issues, in many ways it was especially difficult, as triggering news seemingly broke every day. But there were also some silver linings, as women made taking care of themselves a priority in 2017, too (need we remind you all 101 reasons why it’s damn good to be a woman in 2017?). And when it comes to our mental health, we made some serious strides in de-stigmatizing mental illness and caring for ourselves this year. More people than ever, especially in the spotlight, have come forward to talk openly about their mental health issues, creating an opening for others to do the same. Here are 11 of the most powerful changes:
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1. Celebrities encouraged others to take time off to care for their health
Millie Bobby Brown, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, and Kesha, among other celebrities have recently taken time off to care for their mental health—and they didn’t cite something vague like “exhaustion” as the reason for their break. They were honest. “It’s not selfish to take time for yourself,” Kesha wrote in an op-ed for TIME. In Selena Gomez’s March Vogue cover story, where she revealed she’d been in an in-patient treatment center for 90 days, she said: “I wish more people would talk about therapy. We girls, we’re taught to be almost too resilient, to be strong and sexy and cool and laid-back, the girl who’s down. We also need to feel allowed to fall apart.”
PHOTO: Getty
2. The Royal Family made mental health awareness central to their agenda
It’s not unusual for the Royal Family to choose a philanthropic cause to focus on (Princess Diana is still legendary for her work with AIDS patients) but it is noteworthy that the cause Kate Middleton, Prince William, and Prince Harry have chosen is helping to remove the stigma surrounding mental health. They have worked hard with their foundation, Heads Together, to create an open dialogue about the topic. Most recently, they premiered a series of short films, called #OKtoSay, that highlight how critical conversations surrounding mental health can be.
PHOTO: Instagram
3. Instagram and Facebook made a push to make mental health resources available to their users
Social media is where we share every detail of our lives– and for some users, that includes content that friends and family might see as a sign that someone’s mental health is in a precarious state. (Not to mention social media itself can be the source of anxiety for many people.) So it was a huge step this year when Instagram and Facebook launched tools in an attempt to keep users safe. It’s easier than ever to flag posts and delete hateful comments, but perhaps most importantly, Instagram recently allowed users to monitor Instagram Lives for any potentially concerning messaging or behavior. Once a live video is flagged, the user streaming the video will see a message pop up offering them mental health resources and help.
4. Chrissy Teigen showed us that even women with “perfect lives” get postpartum depression
In Glamour’s April cover story, Chrissy Teigen revealed that she experienced postpartum depression after giving birth to Luna. In her interview, she told Glamour, “I had everything I needed to be happy. And yet, for much of the last year, I felt unhappy. What basically everyone around me—but me—knew up until December was this: I have postpartum depression.”
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5. Troian Bellisario released a deeply powerful film about her battle with anorexia
Pretty Little Liars alum Troain Bellisario wrote and starred in the film FEED, a gritty, honest look at life with anorexia. The point of her film was for people to understand how serious and dangerous the illness is. “It means fighting for your life,” she told Glamour after the film’s release. “You can have a disordered relationship with food, but to have an eating disorder is indicative of a mental illness, which I think needs treatment and recognition in a different way.”
PHOTO: Photo by Noam Galai/WireImage/Getty Images
6. Lena Dunham gave advice to young people coping with obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is surrounded by a lot of misinformation (like that it’s about an intense desire for cleanliness—it’s not!), and one of the common misconceptions is that it can’t affect children. But it can, and in a video for the Child Mind Institute, Dunham, who was diagnosed with OCD in childhood, offered advice she wish she wish she had heard when she was younger. “I would tell my younger self that there’s no shame in asking a teacher for help,” she said in the video. “Telling a friend that you’re uncomfortable, and that it’s just the same as falling down and scraping your knee.”
PHOTO: Tim Mosenfelder
7. Katy Perry de-stigmatized therapy by live-streaming one of her sessions
Earlier this year, Perry live-streamed a very real therapy session with her very real therapist. She captured herself talking to her therapist about battling suicidal thoughts, and even revealed that she wrote a song about it. “I feel ashamed that I would have those thoughts, feel that low and that depressed,” Perry said mid-session. “You can be right or you can be loved. I just want to be loved.” Talking about therapy is so important, so props to Perry for revealing to her fans that she sees a therapist—and what they talk about.
8. Michelle Williams proved you can’t ever really know how someone is feeling—even if they’re massively successful
Destiny’s Child was at one point one of the biggest groups in the world, but that didn’t mean all the members were happy. During an appearance on CBS’s The Talk earlier this year, Williams revealed that during her time in the band, she suffered from depression so severe she considered suicide. “I just internalized everything. I didn’t have an outlet,” she said. “You know, you go to church, and you just sweep it under the rug, and then you pray about it.” We now know it doesn’t have to be that way.
PHOTO: Paul Hebert/ABC
9. Corinne Olympios taught viewers about anxiety attacks during her time on The Bachelor
Season 21 of The Bachelor often made light of the fact that contestant Corinne once slept through one of the rose ceremonies, but after the episodes aired, she explained she was actually suffering from a mental health issue. “I was actually very upset, and I actually had an anxiety attack,” Corinne said during The Women Tell All. “I was hyperventilating, and I was very, very upset, and I was not in any way ready to go down and stand in a rose ceremony. Like, I was not able to do so.” She continues, “They can think what they want to think. I know what was happening in my own self that night.” If sleep is what you need, sleep, girl.
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10. Prince William revealed that his mother Diana struggled with bulimia
In a 2017 documentary called Wasting Away: The Truth About Anorexia, Prince William sat down with Mark Austin, former British news anchor, and Austin’s daughter Maddie, who is recovering from anorexia. William explained that his late mother had bulimia—a revelation most didn’t know— and reiterated the importance of treating eating disorders seriously. “These are illnesses,” he said. “Mental health needs to be taken as seriously as physical health.”
PHOTO: Gary Gershoff
11. Lili Reinhart summed up exactly how we should view depression
In an interview with Glamour, the Riverdale star said that depression runs in her family. “That’s something that can be hard to come to terms with,” she said. “There wasn’t a particular reason why I was feeling [depressed], but you don’t need a reason—it’s depression. It’s a chemical in your brain that can be helped with medication, so that’s what I did. You don’t need validation to feel like it’s OK to be sad. As long as you try to figure it out and solve it to make things better, that’s all that matters.” Preach, Lili.
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