Leann Rimes is opening up about her mental health struggles.
“Growing up in this world is challenging enough, but growing up in the public eye added 100 multiple layers of challenges to the process,” Rimes, 38, told People magazine in an interview published on Monday.
The country singer, who soared to fame at age 13, recalled checking herself into a facility for anxiety and depression in 2012, when she was 30.
“It’s something I’ve been very vocal about, because I feel like there’s so much stigma around it,” Rimes explained.
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In an ongoing effort to normalize conversations about mental health, Rimes recently launched her iHeartRadio podcast, “Wholly Human.”
“I honestly would have never been able to create something like this if it wasn’t for my journey with starting to get help when I was 30 and then my journey from there,” she revealed. “Life has a funny way of putting us through the wringer in order for us to come out on the other side and help others.”
The radio show won’t sugarcoat any of Rimes’ experiences.
“Nothings’s left out. It’s not super polished, and it’s going to be messy,” she noted.
Though Rimes still lives with anxiety and depression, she has learned how to manage her symptoms with meditation and chanting.
“I feel like I have a toolbox now that I'm able to sit and dig into to help me on the more challenging days, where before I didn’t have that toolbox, I would kind of be lost in the sea of anxiety and depression,” she said.
Though Rimes finds comfort in her husband, Eddie Cibrian, whom she calls her “rock,” the star has also learned to lean on herself.
“I … know how to take care of my own pain,” she said. “So I think that part of this whole journey of mine has been learning how to self-source and to be my own form of care and love.”
