Tori Deal opens up about her mental health after years of ‘silent suffering’ and thanks Sarah Bareilles for choosing to share her story
Tori Deal shares how taking antidepressants helped her after her mental health hit rock bottom
In the latest episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies, the 29-year-old opened up about her mental health struggles and revealed that she uses antidepressants to help cope. After the show, he took to Instagram to explain what inspired him to speak after years of “suffering in silence. Something he says people who “look very happy and cheerful” often do.
“All my life, especially as a teenager, I have struggled with deep feelings of sadness and hopelessness. She wrote Thursday, alongside a photo of herself participating in a “healing” ritual in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
“But I can understand; I disguise the feeling with a joke, show it and pretend I’m not there.”
“As I got older, this method became a useful tool to help me navigate the harsh world of social media and exposure to reality TV, but it was only a patchwork for a real problem,” continued Deal. “So the bottom is unavoidable. I was in a very dark place last year, so I decided to get more help.”
Deal explained that getting help and taking antidepressants was a decision inspired by Sarah Bareilles. Who described her struggle with depression and anxiety on social media in January.
At the time, the 42-year-old “Love Song” singer posted a photo of herself holding half a white pill and medication — combined with therapy, exercise, sleep, family, and friends — to help her “see” you again.
“He shared pictures of pills and described feelings of happiness and emotional relief. Something that seemed foreign to me, but I knew I needed it,” Deal wrote of Bareilles. “So without hesitation, I just said ‘fine…’ and made a promise.”