Gemma Styles is the sister of one of the most famous men on the planet but she describes herself as a “fiercely private person”.
But she opened up by bravely writing a book about her mental health journey called Why Am I like This?
At 33, Gemma admits she hesitated to seek therapy due to the inevitable interest in her famous family, saying “talking about my life, or childhood, or family means talking about people who the outside world are, let’s just say, very curious about”. But when it came to her brother getting an early peek at her work, she reveals: “He was the first non-publishing person who asked to read the book. It was daunting [to let him read it] in the way it would be for anyone.”
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She found comfort in sharing it with Harry, trusting that he’d be nothing but supportive: “But it was nice for it to be a family member and someone who I trust and also who I knew would be kind to me about it.”, reports the Mirror.
However, these days Gemma’s focus is less on her superstar brother and more on her bubbly six-month-old daughter, whom she shares with her long-term partner, business analyst Michal Mlynowski.
She first experienced anxiety in her teens and by her mid-20s, she was grappling with clinical depression so severe that it drove her to contemplate suicide.
Her journey included a transformative ADHD diagnosis two years ago.
“It can be really hard to talk publicly about the most difficult times in your life,” Gemma said. “I’m fiercely private about some things and then I’m happy to talk about times when I felt suicidal. So I sometimes think, ‘How have I ended up doing this?
“But one of the things shown to have the most positive impact on people having suicidal thoughts or in the depths of depression is to share stories when you go, ‘That happened to me, I felt like that, and I feel better now. And it’s possible for you to feel better as well’.”
She recalls her deep depression as a feeling of being “hollow, sad and unworthy”, clarifying her mindset by saying, “I didn’t actively want to die… but I so badly wanted to opt out of what my life had become that it boiled down to the same longing”.
These days, however, she strikes a note of cautious optimism: “In the back of my mind, sometimes I think that could happen to me again but I try not to dwell on it. I have come through it before and I could do it again. I would be down the GP’s like a shot. I’ve done the medication before, I’ve done therapy before, I would do it again.”
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Two years ago, after a childhood friend shared an Instagram video of an influencer discussing her own ADHD symptoms, Gemma sought a diagnosis.
The Instagram video prompted Gemma to delve into the topic of ADHD, which she describes as “like reading a story of my life”.
She further explains that her ADHD diagnosis provided a “comfort – just in terms of having some answers and a different level of understanding of myself”.
Gemma added: “I felt able to show myself a better level of kindness. ‘OK, I’m not wrong for thinking that’ or ‘there’s a reason why I struggle with this thing’.
Despite her struggles, she feels “very fortunate” to have a strong support system. “I’m so grateful for my friends. And my boyfriend and family are very supportive.
Gemma, who hosts the Good Influence podcast, is an environmental activist and boasts 10 million Instagram followers, confesses to often comparing herself negatively to others.
(Image: @GemmaStyles/Instagram)
She said: “I can’t completely stop comparing myself to other people, it’s impossible to do that. But there’s science behind why that’s difficult. It’s not just me being rubbish. For me, it’s not a physical appearance comparison, it would be professional stuff.
“If someone had written a book, I would think, ‘I’d love to do that but I wouldn’t know enough about the subject or I would struggle to concentrate or I wouldn’t be able to manage my time. “Having penned a book herself, will she go easy on herself? “I’m really trying to enjoy it.
“But I take criticism quite hard. Logically, I know no one is everyone’s cup of tea.
“I don’t like everyone so I don’t expect everyone to like me either. But people are going to review the book and that feels terrifying.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
