Bella Hadid details ‘excruciating’ mental health struggle as she opens up about crying photos

Supermodel Bella Hadid raised concerns when she uploaded a series of photos of herself crying. Now she’s revealed the reason behind them.

US supermodel Bella Hadid has opened up about posting a series of photos of herself crying on social media.

The 25-year-old Victoria’s Secret model shared a confronting post with fans in November, detailing her struggle with mental health alongside countless selfies showing her in tears.

In a recent interview with WSJ Magazine, Hadid explained her thought process behind the post, saying taking photos of herself to explain her mental state was easier than using words.

“I would have really depressive episodes and my mum or my doctor would ask how I was and instead of having to respond in text, I would just send them a photo,” she told the publication. “It was the easiest thing for me to do at the time because I was never able to explain how I was feeling.

“I would just be in excruciating and debilitating mental and physical pain, and I didn’t know why. That was over the past three years.

“[When I posted them] it was to make sure that anybody that was feeling that way knew it was OK to feel that way.

“Even though on Instagram things look so beautiful, at the end of the day, we are all cut from the same cloth. I felt like it was just good for me to be able to speak my truth and at some point I wasn‘t able to post nice pretty pictures anymore. I was over it.”

Bella Hadid previously detailed her ‘excruciating’ struggle with mental health. Picture: Instagram/bellahadid

The supermodel uploaded several photos of herself in tears in November. Picture: Instagram/bellahadid

Hadid, who said she was feeling better these days, revealed she felt “less lonely” after sharing the post.

“Because I had a lot of people that have reached out saying, ‘I feel that way too,’” she said.

“Walking outside, being able to remember there are so many people going through things and have similar patterns to me, it makes me feel better.

“I don’t know if that’s not what people want on Instagram, and that’s fine. I don’t have to be on Instagram forever. I feel like real is the new real, and that’s what’s important to me.”

Bella Hadid modelling for Rihanna’s lingerie line, Fenty. Picture: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty Show Presented by Amazon Prime Video

Hadid, who is the younger sister of supermodel Gigi Hadid, previously uploaded the crying post with a lengthy caption, revealing she had cried “pretty much my every day, every night. For a few years now”.

“Social media is not real. For anyone struggling, please remember that,” she wrote at the time.

“Self help and mental illness/chemical imbalance is not linear and it is almost like a flowing rollercoaster of obstacles … it has its ups and downs, and side to sides. But I want you to know, there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and the rollercoaster always comes to a complete stop at some point.

“It took me a long time to get that in my mind, but I’ve had enough breakdowns and burnouts to know this: If you work hard enough on yourself, spending time alone to understand your traumas, triggers, joys, and routine, you will always be able to understand or learn more about your own pain and how to handle it.”