Reese Witherspoon’s daughter, Ava, has spoken candidly about her mental health.
The 24-year-old daughter of Reese and her first husband Ryan Phillippe has opened up about her battling “intense” anxiety since childhood.
During an Instagram Q&A, Ava spoke honestly about her long-running struggle with her mental health and offered her fans advice on how to help their own anxiety.
“I’ve dealt with anxiety for as long as I can remember,” she confessed, “and it was especially intense for me as a kid and teenager.”
When asked how she manages her condition Ava acknowledged that “there is no one solution that works for everyone” but shared a few tips that help her when going through stressful times.
“Don’t invalidate your feelings,” she said. “You have every right to feel however you do, even if it seems weird to others, and being hard on yourself won’t help you feel better or find a solution.”
The blonde beauty also recommended taking a few deep breaths and grounding yourself with your five senses.
‘Note 1-3 things you can smell, touch, hear, etc… in the moment and remember: this feeling will pass, even if you have to ride it out for a while,” she said.
Ava also explained how dealing with anxiety has led her to developing a “bad habit” of picking her skin. “It’s just so tempting for some reason,” she added, “but I think I’ve been better about not doing that as I’ve gotten older.”
Yet the 24-year-old hasn’t let her mental health hold her back and she revealed that she has been studying social welfare at UC Berkeley.
“Loved this major and got to take so many fascinating classes on various social/political movements, systemic inequities, psychology, and the practice of social work,” Ava explained.
“Even though I didn’t end up becoming a social worker, I still think what I learned in this major informs a lot of how I move through the world and my perspective on some major issues.”
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