Why I Respect Rachel Bloom After Reading Her Mental Health 'Glamour' Essay

No one really associates success with kindness. As you stand near the door to all you’ve worked for, butterflies should fly inside you; the good kind. But for Rachel Bloom, star and co-creator of the hit show “Crazy Ex Girlfriend,” the path to success wasn’t so great.

As she recalls in her “Glamour” essay, her anxiety began one sleepless night before she had to pitch her show to network executives. Getting a pitch meeting in the first place is an accomplishment on its own. In Rachel’s mind however, it was something “that started a spiral.”

Recognizing anxiety as it starts is not something we’re all able to do. With work, relationships and life in its own, we often assume anxiety as nothing out of the ordinary. It was something Rachel hid from this point on, but after a reaction to birth control, anxiety became depression. She finally sought some help.

If there is something we can learn from Rachel’s story is that recognizing there’s an issue can be its own form of medication. Before her depression she met with some therapists. After the medication she turned to a psychiatrist. Rachel addressed every pinpoint in her journey with some action. And although she was alone in the beginning, Rachel said that eventually opening up to others helped her see “a lot of people have felt the same way.”

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “At any point in time, 3 to 5 percent of adults suffer from major depression.” There are many ways to get help, but it starts by admitting you need it.

For that Rachel Bloom, I salute you.