Zoe Saldaña is opening up about her mental health struggles.
Speaking with PEOPLE, Saldaña shared how “pride and fear” kept her battling her issues alone.
“I think it comes in waves,” Saldaña explained. “There are seasons where I feel ahead of it, and I feel capable. And then there are times where I fall behind because I’m tired or really stressed. It’s life. Life tends to either get ahead of you or be behind you, and I’m always trying to kind of read the room, you know?”
After a challenging decade in her 20s, the actress found healing in her 30s once she learned to lean on others for mental health support.
“The challenges that were really hard to get through were the ones that I battled alone without any help, either because of pride or an inability to speak up, or fear,” she explains. “Then the challenges that I feel like I was able to navigate easily And to heal properly were the ones where I asked for support and a community rallied around me.”
Saldaña says, “She’s one of the many women who immediately respond, ‘I’m fine,’ when they are not.
“There’s this bad habit of thinking that if you say you’re fine, then everything will be fine,” she said. “I still do it, but I just have to be honest with myself. When I’m not fine, I have to try to muster the courage to say it. To tell everyone around me, ‘Hey, I’m not fine; I really need your support, but this is how I feel like you can help.’ ”
As a mental health advocate, Saldaña has partnered with Lancôme and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) to launch the brand’s “I’m Fine” global campaign. This vision is “to encourage women to break the silence on mental health and feel empowered to seek support.”
“Approximately one in three women will experience anxiety or depression during their lifetime. And yet, so many of us struggle to speak openly about our mental wellbeing,” Saldaña shared. “Also, 80 percent of women admit to saying, ‘I’m fine,’ when they’re not, and 72 percent regret hiding how they truly felt. That just lets you know we have to keep providing safe spaces for each other.”