Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
If you ask people who they wish they could be or who their celebrity crush is, you are bound to have numerous individuals answer Jennifer Aniston. And I’m sure if you ask these people about Aniston’s mental health and happiness, they would say something similar to “well she’s gotta be happy, she has it all.” This perception is the same for all celebrities that never went through a very visible “breakdown” like others. Besides exploiting some romantic struggles, when Aniston is in the news it is generally a positive response. She states that she is very lucky to have gotten through fame (especially at a relatively young age) with little emotional scarring.
Her home life growing up may not have had the same level of “luck” though. Aniston reflects on her home life, recalling it as “destabilizing” and “unsafe,” which has led to some of the reasons she started to advocate for therapy. Most of Aniston’s fame stemmed from playing Rachel in the show “Friends.” This lovable character raised her to the limelight, but also introduced her to many castmates turned friends. She claimed her coworkers turned into the family that she was craving. This role also came with a whole lot more attention for America's newest “sweetheart.” Along with coping with previous traumas and abandonment issues, she also had depression and other mental illnesses. In 2018, Aniston started to speak out more against the stigma surrounding mental health and admitted she had been going to therapy for years. Aniston is quoted as saying, “I can’t keep pretending to be America’s carefree sweetheart, [...]the truth is, it’s been a fight to get out of bed every morning.” Although Aniston is sometimes seen as perfect, she still struggles too. It’s important that celebrities share their stories like this because knowing they go through the same everyday struggles as everyone else inspires others to share and also seek help. Talking about mental health and seeking out therapy is a very easy concept in theory, but for a lot of people it is very personal and hard to open up about. Her speaking out that she goes to therapy could inspire more people to get help because their desirable favorite celebrity is also getting therapy.