Holly Carpenter has admitted she’s “sick of toxic positivity” on social media.
Last month, the former Miss Ireland was praised for her opening up about her struggle with depression in a candid social media post.
Posting a photo of herself wearing sunglasses, Holly wrote: “Kept my sunnies on for most of the day yesterday because my eyes were bloodshot from crying.”
“I’ve struggled with my mental health since I was 20 and I’ve been on anti depressants since the age of 24.”
Kept my sunnies on for most of the day yesterday because my eyes were bloodshot from crying. I’ve struggled with my mental health since I was 20 and I’ve been on anti depressants since the age of 24. Sometimes depression looks confident & happy x pic.twitter.com/rQm2X2gnq4
— Holly Carpenter (@Holly0910) October 27, 2020
Speaking to The Sunday Independent, the Dublin native revealed why she decided to share her story, admitting: “I just had a moment where it all felt too much, and I was really honest in that moment.”
“I’d go on Instagram and I felt that there was a lot of positivity, but it’s this kind of toxic positivity, where people are like ‘no bad days, only good vibes, come on let’s get on with it, we can do this’.
“And I know that people are trying to help, but I just felt a bit sick of it,” Holly confessed.
“I thought, ‘I don’t want to come on my Instagram, and do that, and say to everyone, hey, we’re going to be fine’, because I don’t feel like that.”
“It’s just such a tough time and I think it’s OK to go ‘this is shit’. I don’t want to put up a picture of me doing yoga in my kitchen, with a slice of banana bread in my hand, pretending I’m OK, because I’m not.
“There’s all these buzz-words around mental health. Like ‘it’s OK to not be OK’. But there’s nothing glamorous about it,” Holly added.
“Sometimes it can be gritty, and painful, and embarrassing. You feel raw. And it’s scary. But once you just wade through that, there is light at the end of the tunnel; you just have to push through.”
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“It’s not all about sitting cross-legged trying to meditate. It’s not Pinterest, it’s not Instagram, it’s actually real life and it’s sh*t.”
Holly urged readers: “Don’t compare yourself to anyone, because everyone is struggling right now, even if it looks like they’re not.
“Not everyone has their sh*t together right now, and that’s OK. And it’s OK if I feel like I don’t.”
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Holly was crowned Miss Ireland back in 2011, and famously appeared on Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model in 2013.
The Dublin native has since left her modelling career behind, and works as an influencer full-time.
She also launched her own brand, LoveLift, back in 2017 – and sells a range of jewellery, bags and robes online and in selected stores nationwide.
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