Rachel Bloom Speaks Out About Depression

Speaking out about mental illness is challenging for anyone, but admitting to anxiety must be even harder to openly talk about when you’re in the public eye. But, that isn’t stopping Rachel Bloom from opening up about suffering from anxiety and depression — and what she has to say is incredibly inspiring to anyone who has experienced similar battles. In fact, the message that Bloom shares about mental illness is one that we all need to hear, whether we have experienced it ourselves or not.

In a recent account told to a Glamour staffer, Bloom opened up about some of the darkest moments that she’s faced during her history with depression. One of the toughest times, she admitted, came during the week when she and her My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator were pitching the current CW series to television execs: "That started a spiral. Every night before a pitch that week, I had sleep anxiety. I became delirious — and afraid that I wasn't sleeping; ergo I would ruin everything."

I think what’s important to note here is that, during a time when Bloom was on the verge of huge success, she was experiencing her darkest moments with depression. This sort of thing, she continued to Glamour, is what she wants other people to hear. “I'm naturally bubbly, even when I'm sad,” Bloom said. “But here's what people can't see: During a spiral the world feels dark.”

Still, admitting to struggling with depression and opening up to other people about it is what Bloom stated helped her in the long run: "The thing that has most aided me through my anxiety and depression is realizing I'm not alone… In opening up to others, I found a lot of people have felt the same way." It’s an important message for all of us to hear: Speaking openly about what she was experiencing was ultimately what helped Bloom overcome it. Hopefully, her words help others just as the words of others helped her.

It’s brave and inspiring that Bloom is speaking openly about this now. Society needs to be able to converse intelligently about depression, anxiety, and other struggles of the kind — and I commend Bloom for contributing so honestly to the conversation.