Bella Hadid Was The First Person In Her Family To Go To Therapy, And Says It Had A "Domino Effect" On Them

Over the past few months, Bella Hadid has shared her experiences with anxiety, "depressive episodes," and an unhealthy relationship to alcohol in several interviews and on Instagram.

Now the supermodel is opening up about about seeking help, and how she came to find "clarity" while focusing on therapy and simultaneously taking a break from social media.

"I grew up in a very Arab and European family [where] therapy was not a thing, and I was the first one in my family to go to therapy," she explained during a recent appearance on the VS Voices podcast.

"That was a big step forward that progressed kind of my whole family's chance of healing because everyone followed, which was really enlightening for me," Bella noted. Her decision to start therapy sparked a "domino effect" among her relatives, who then embraced it as well.

Bella also discussed the November Instagram post where she included photos of herself crying. "I lost joy completely," she said. "It's a bizarre place to be in because ... there's nothing wrong in my life."

Ultimately Bella cited therapy, meditation, and "staying off social media" as lifestyle changes that allowed her to recover a sense of self and return to a place of mental wellness. "It sounds very cliché but to not have the energy of everyone else and their projections being projected back onto you is one of the most powerful things of all time," she said, referencing the choice to step back from social networking apps.

"This is the first year I took time away and I had never done that before, so it was a big experience for me to be able to make the time for myself and kind of experience life without the material and the cameras and the lifestyle that I had been living for so many years that didn't feel true to me," Bella continued.

"And once I was able to be at a place and take the time for myself and see myself through others' eyes that wasn't just the world's vision of what I was supposed to be, it was really interesting," she recalled. "And it was really a lot of clarity for me to really see myself again."

Check out her full podcast appearance here.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.