Beauty blogger Heather Rae Blue has a gorgeous Instagram account (@heatherraeblue) where she regularly posts about travel, beauty, and fashion.
So it was a shock to her 70,000+ followers when she posted a very raw, real, and vulnerable post- sharing her secret depression.
“I did a thing. I opened up to judgment and criticism to allow myself to be vulnerable. And damn, am I vulnerable (*cue nervous eating*). I wrote about my silent struggle on the internet for everyone to see,” the Utah blogger wrote on instagram, posting a photo showing her uncomfortable and unable to relax in a beautiful location.
She then directs to her blog, where she starts with a harsh reality:
"As a child, pointing out your ooey gooey wounds meant kisses and Neosporin; at some point that changed into makeup over bruises."
She tells her relatable story, then asks a chilling question? "uncomfortable yet?"
"That's because others' struggles are like the sun.
You want to look, you want to help, but it's just too bright and too much, so you cover your face. We all do it, at least to some degree. What do you say? Even if you're relating, how do you tell them without their view of you changing? How do you react? So, you just don't. You wait for the sun to set, and you admire the beauty that they were able to overcome it, once it does. This isn't necessarily your fault. We, as a society, have developed a false tick in our mind that everyone else is perfect, so we have to be too. Guys, I'm telling you I'm not perfect; I'm struggling. I'm being vulnerable. Yet, did you answer yes to being uncomfortable?
#breakthestigma" she followed.
The 24-year-old — challenges the minds of her audience and shows them, through what feels like a one on one experience, the silencing factor society has given regarding anxiety and depression.
She created a vulnerability challenge- requesting that her readers be vulnerable too, and share their truths, fears, and experiences that normally go unshared.
Heather said she was terrified to post, even having sat on it for over two weeks due to fear, but wanted others to know the reality and raw truth behind the seemingly perfect instagram account.
Who wouldn't be?!
The blogger has not only broken the silence but started the much-needed conversation all over the world. Her vulnerability has inspired many.
The writer tells us, “My main goal was to open up the (oh so tightly shut) doors to my world to allow my picture-perfect life to become real and authentic. I sat in my car one night crying, and thought to myself- how many others are doing this same thing? It's difficult sometimes to look at the bigger picture until you understand how many feel the same way as you. Once I realized that, I had to do something; even if that meant showing my wounds."
Will You Be Vulnerable Today?
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