No stranger to the glaring lights of paparazzi and a regular in the gossip columns of many a magazine and blog, Cara Delevingne – model/Instagram sensation/all round it-girl – seems to live a life under the constant gaze of the press. With the recent and celebrated announcement of her relationship with musician Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and an upcoming Mango campaign with queen Kate Moss, what could possibly be going wrong for the beautifully browed Cara?
“Wrong” is not the right word here. Depression, in all its forms and guises, is not “wrong” and it can affect you, me and the likes of those who have Kendall Jenner on speed dial. In short, depression does not discriminate.
(Photo credit: tumbler.com)
In a candid interview with American Vogue – the first cover for Cara – an unfaltering and unavoidably real account of her younger years and dark days. One such account being the effects of her mother’s heroin addiction and how it shaped her childhood; ultimately altering the adult she was to become.
The sentiment of Cara’s recollection of her battle with mental health in her teens is perhaps quite universal: “The worst thing was that I knew I was a lucky girl, and the fact that you would rather be dead… You just feel so guilty for those feelings, and it’s this vicious circle. Like, how dare I feel that way? So you just attack yourself some more.”
Cara’s account of her encounter with depression is frank, insightful and much needed. In the teenage age group rates of depression and anxiety have increased by 70% in the past 25 years (Mental Health Foundation, 2004) and this is a shocking statistic. Whether this is down to an increased awareness and higher rate of diagnosis the fact remains that mental health is becoming more prominent in our society. It should be a talking point for all young people.
The importance of people like Cara coming out and talking about their experiences of depression cannot be overstated. In bringing depression directly under the gaze of the public eye, society is compelled to ask: “Are we doing enough?”
Stella McCartney remarked of Cara: “The thing about Cara is that she’s more than just a model—she stands for something in her generation’s eyes” and this may be true in the sense that Cara has become more than a model. She is someone and something we can relate to. Whether it’s her fondness of a vintage filter, an exploration of the occasionally confusing world of sexuality or her experience of depression, in Cara’s honesty we can see ourselves.