Megan Barton Hanson “didn’t want to be here anymore” at her lowest point two years ago.
The ‘Love Island’ star has previously spoken about her mental health problems and has now recalled how she wanted to “give up” following the breakdown of a relationship two years ago which left her feeling numb.
She said:
“I just felt like I wanted to give up, like there wasn’t any positive times, there wasn’t any sad times, I just felt a whole cloud over me of just like numbness and nothingness… I remember crying to my mum and saying basically ‘I really am not happy, I don’t wanna be here anymore’.”
Megan admitted she initially struggled to open up about her problems.
She told heat magazine:
“I found it so difficult to open up because I just thought, ‘Am I crazy? Am I mental?’… I hate saying that because I think that’s where all the stigma comes from.”
But now the 25-year-old star thinks anyone with a “big platform” needs to be honest about their struggles in order to remove the stigma around mental health issues.
She said:
“Everyone with a big platform needs to speak out about it because everyone suffers on some level. So, it shouldn’t be taboo and more people need to realise that it’s okay to feel, like, down or anxious.
“I think we’re slowly getting better with mental health in the UK. We’re speaking about it more openly but it’s still something we need to talk about more.”
And Megan has found ways to cope when she is struggling.
She said:
- “I thought there was no way I could get better – but there always is, and I did get better… for me, therapy, meditation and yoga really help.”
Megan has pledged her support to ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ – to get help on mental health issues and find out how you can support our campaign so mental and physical health are given equal treatment at work go to www.wheresyourheadat.org