We often regard Nadine Lustre as a stoic character who always keeps her cool. Perhaps the only times we see her go off in emotional outbursts is when she's embodying a role that requires her to be anything but herself. Although, there are layers upon layers beneath this facade of hers, and she's not at all hesitant to peel away at it.
Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide
On an episode of Liza Soberano's An Open Mind podcast, Nadine opened up about her struggles with her mental health. She got candid on how long she's been facing these problems, and how she's been actively overcoming them.
The 28-year-old began to realize that "there was something wrong" when she was on the set of one of her teleseryes in 2015. She recalls going to Korea to celebrate her birthday that year, and feeling as if she just wasn't interested in anything. "I was just jaded. I felt like I was a robot. Everything felt automatic, like it [all] didn't have heart."
This was a feeling she could trace back to when she was much younger. "Sometimes I'd have outbursts, I'd have thoughts in my head. There were a lot of things I was going through as a kid, and I didn't really know what [they were]. No one was really there to tell me what [they were]," Nadine recounts.
As much as she felt like she needed to, the singer-actress just couldn't find it in herself to reach out to her parents, admitting that she wasn't "very open to them." She mentions that, "Back then, I was such an introvert. I didn't have a lot of friends. At the age of 14 or 15, I didnt want my friends to think I was being emotional or being dramatic."
Things took the most drastic of turns when Nadine's brother, Isaiah, took his own life in 2017 due to his bouts with depression and anxiety. It was a situation that Nadine's parents, according to the actress, were "clueless" about.
She attributes it to a generational gap between the two of them, and how mental health wasn't as openly discussed during their time. Since then, Nadine was dedicated to helping explain things to them, and to guiding her younger sister on how to be more open about her feelings.
When it comes to overcoming such taxing mental struggles, Nadine's simplest yet most essential advice is to simply talk. "Just having a lot of friends, we all help each other. That's the point of having friends, family, and people who care about you; you help each other through your challenges."
She shares how she usually has "cry fests" with her closest peers, and how greatly they help in releasing her emotions. For her, finding ways to resolve one's anxieties starts by letting them out to the world. She says, "As soon as you let it all out, automatic na you find solutions. That's always been my process of dealing with stuff."
Although, while having a tight circle definitely helps with easing one's mind, both Nadine and Liza strongly believe that seeking professional help is an essential step towards getting better.
Nadine herself has a life coach, who she endearingly calls Tita Cindy, and she's been there to "[hold] her hand through the rollercoaster she was on over the past couple of years." Tita Cindy was always just a message away whenever she needed counselling.
To put it all simply, the superstar likens bearing anxiety-inducing thoughts and feelings to lugging around a bag with rocks. "Parang there's a backpack, and you keep all of these things that you always think or worry about. They're rocks and you put them in your bag. The more rocks you put into your bag [that] you dont take out, [the heavier the bag gets]." It's vital that one learns how to let go of those rocks.
To hear more of Nadine and Liza's conversation, listen here.
If you or anyone you know is struggling from depression, mental health crisis, or have suicidal thoughts, you may contact DOH’s National Mental Health Crisis Hotline or Hopeline PH.
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