Tori Deal is opening up about how taking antidepressants helped her after her mental health hit "rock bottom."
In the latest episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies, the 29-year-old opened up about her struggles with mental health and revealed that she has been taking antidepressants to manage. Following the show, she posted on Instagram to explain what inspired her to speak out after years of "suffering in silence," something she says people who may "seem so happy and bubbly" often do.
"My entire life, especially as a teenage girl, I've struggled with deep feelings of sadness and hopelessness," she wrote Thursday alongside a photo of her participating in a "healing" ritual in the Ecuadorian Amazon. "But I'm savvy, I dressed up those feelings with jokes, put on a show, and acted like they weren't there."
"As I grew older those methods became useful tools to help get me through the harsh world of social media and the exposure of reality tv, but they were just a Band-aid for the real problems," Deal continued. "So hitting rock bottom was inevitable. Last year I was in a really dark place, and this is why I decided to look for more help."
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Deal explained that getting help and going on antidepressants was a decision inspired by Sara Bareilles, who detailed her battle with depression and anxiety on social media in January.
At the time, the "Love Song" singer, 42, posted a photo holding half of a white pill in her hand, attributing medication — paired with therapy, exercise, sleep, family and friends — for helping her "see" herself again.
"She shared a photo of a pill and explained a feeling of bliss and emotional relief, something that felt foreign to me but I knew I really needed," Deal wrote of Bareilles. "So, without hesitation I just said 'f— it' and made an appointment."
"I'm posting this because a simple post helped me end years of silent suffering. Everyone deserves to feel OKAY," she ended her post. "So thank you Sara Bareilles for sharing because you were a part of freeing myself from an emotional cage I lived in for years. And for anyone who this post resonates with just know, I love you. You're not alone, and all the world wants is for you to feel good being you."