Trigger warning: This story deals with topics including mental health and suicide
Anxiety and other mental health issues are very common in Australia.
According to Beyond Blue, one quarter of us experience an anxiety condition in our lifetimes, and one in six are currently experiencing depression or anxiety.
Despite being so common, suffering anxiety can be quite an isolating experience.
These Aussie celebs have spoken candidly about their mental health struggles, and have helped many others through the process of opening up.
Sam Frost
First landing on our screens on The Bachelor in 2014, Sam Frost cemented her place in the Australian TV scene by going on The Bachelorette and eventually joining the cast of Home and Away as Jasmine Delaney. However, her meteoric rise to TV fame has been met with a level of anxiety.
“It is always up and down [mental headspace]; I think a lot of people who struggle with their mental health, depression or anxiety will understand you have your good days and bad days,” she told TV Week in 2021.
Sam’s struggles have led her to become a passionate advocate for mental health, even founding Believe by Sam Frost, a mental health resource providing genuine support for young girls.
As for handling her mental health, the actress has learned strategies to help her cope.
“The first thing I will do is book an appointment with my psychologist. I think that it is really important to try and leave the house and either go for a walk, switch your phone off, make a cup of tea, do the things that you really like and is good for your soul,” she explained to TV Week.
“For me, it is walking my dog, I love reading books, so I will read,” she shared.
Abbie Chatfield
The Bachelor season seven runner-up Abbie Chatfield has been very candid about the effect trolling had on her mental health.
People who disliked her characterisation on the show went as far as to send her death threats, leave comments about her body, and question her reasoning behind joining the show.
“It’s really hard when that gets into your psyche and you truly believe that after a while,” she said on Celebrity Kind.
Abbie also told Mamamia: “Honestly, it got to the point the weekend before the finale aired where I didn’t leave the bed. I was having suicidal thoughts, that was the level I was at.”
The now-influencer is very candid on Instagram about her experience with a psychologist, and how it has helped her since the show ended. She also discusses her anxiety often on her podcast, It’s A Lot.
Jesinta Franklin
Model and mum-of-two Jesinta Franklin has been open about her struggles with anxiety, even sharing her support for her AFL player husband, Buddy Franklin, while he was facing similar issues.
Although she resides in the public eye mostly as an influencer these days, Jesinta’s issues began around the time she was crowned Miss Universe Australia.
“I first experienced anxiety when I won Miss Universe Australia [in 2010] and it was just so overwhelming. There were days where it was really hard for me to even go outside because I felt like everyone was looking at me,” she told Marie Claire.
“A few years ago, I was lying in bed and I felt like I couldn’t breathe and that my chest was caving in. I went to the doctors because I thought I had a heart problem and it was actually anxiety. My anxiety is a physical thing: my heart rate goes through the roof and my hands get clammy.”
Jesinta has publicly said that she speaks to a psychologist regularly, and also has other strategies like taking a bath, listening to nice music, lighting candles and taking moments for herself.
Osher Gunsberg
Osher has shared his mental health struggles publicly across various mediums, writing blogs and regularly speaking on podcasts about his experiences.
He suffered an episode of psychosis while living in California in 2014, having stopped taking his medication for depression and anxiety, which eventually led him to return to medication and seek help for his various conditions.
The Bachelor host has also been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“I would have a compulsion to very viscerally fantasise about the end of the world, climate change catastrophes that had been predicted,” he explained while appearing on ABC’s You Can’t Ask That.
“If I turned the air conditioner on, it meant that climate change would destroy the world and it was like every three to five seconds. It got to the point where after a few hours of that you’re like ‘This can’t stop, and I can’t stop it’,” he told viewers.
After his appearance on the show, Osher took to Instagram to speak some more about the disorder.
“I’m a lot better now thanks to some great meds and some greater doctors who guided me through exposure therapy – but it’s something that my brain just does,” he wrote to fans.
Jake Edwards
With a successful AFL career behind him, Jake Edwards has been a vocal advocate for mental health, especially after his run on Married at First Sight.
He began to experience issues with his mental health early into his sporting career, where he closed himself off and spent time crying in isolation from those he loved. He also reported experiencing suicidal ideation.
Educating himself around mental health lead him into developing Outside the Locker Room, a program that helps sporting clubs understand and care for the mental health of their employees and players.
Despite his amazing work in this field, Jake is still plagued by mental health issues, recently taking time off social media to spend time at a retreat of sorts, where he worked on his anxiety issues. He cited being in nature as a very helpful aspect of his healing.
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