Gossip Queen: Adut Akech reveals high fashion not always the model life for mental health
Australian supermodel Adut Akech has revealed how becoming the darling of the fashion world led her to suffer overwhelming anxiety and how she has finally learnt to say no.
Fiona Byrne
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Australian supermodel Adut Akech has spoken of suffering a mental breakdown as she hit the heights of international fashion.
Akech, 19, chosen by the Duchess of Sussex to appear on the cover of the UK Vogue issue she edited, has told of being overwhelmed by anxiety as she became the darling of the world’s leading designers.
“I have had a couple of really bad mental meltdowns — particularly last year — and I don’t want that to happen again,” said Akech, who is the face of Melbourne Fashion Week.
“I don’t want to get burnt out. I want to talk more about mental health. For me everything has been happening so fast over the past three years that I really have not had time to process anything or let it sink in.
“I have learnt that I have to give myself time and I have to listen to my body.
“Part of the problem was me worrying that if I said no to something then I would not get that chance again. That is problem for a lot of girls.
“So I have had to learn to say no and believe that if someone really wants to work with me they will choose me for a different project at another time.”
Born in South Sudan, Akech came to Melbourne with her family as a six-year-old refugee. Her family is now in Adelaide.