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"What I hope to accomplish is for people to not feel as alone."
Kendall Jenner is hoping to reduce the stigma around mental health by sharing her own experience with anxiety and encouraging others to do the same.
The model appeared on "Good Morning America" on Friday to announce her partnership with Kenneth Cole and The Mental Health Coalition, in an attempt to "rebrand" what it means to have a mental health condition. For the cause, Jenner released a video speaking about her own issues as part of the #HowAreYouReallyChallenge, before nominating Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Hailey Baldwin and Jen Atkin to follow suit.
"Mental health is a pandemic in its own right." @kennethcolereal launches the #MentalHealthCoalition with help from @KendallJenner. The initiative brings together mental health resources and service providers in one place. https://t.co/8RNWwZSahr pic.twitter.com/fmEj6xPn6M
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 15, 2020 @GMA
"When he came to me it was so perfect and I struggle with my own mental health issues sometimes myself," Jenner explained of why she joined the movement. "I was excited, I was so ready to get involved."
Speaking of her own struggles in the past, Jenner said she was "really, really young" when she first started experiencing panic attacks, but didn't realize what they were at the time.
"I remember feeling like I couldn't breathe and running to my mom and being like, 'Mom I feel like I can't breathe, something must be wrong,'" she recalled. "She of course took me to a bunch of doctors to make sure I was okay physically and I was. No one ever told me that I had anxiety."
"Maybe 3-4 years ago, it came back completely full on and I would have crazy panic attacks," said Jenner, who explained that's when she "finally got the information I needed about it."
Her goal is to let other people know they're not alone, as more start to open up about their personal struggles and end the stigma.
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View StoryFollowing her appearance on GMA, Jenner elaborated further on the partnership on Instagram.
"I have been doing a lot of thinking during quarantine, mostly about mental health and how important it is ... especially in this times with the devastation of coronavirus," she said in a video. "I just wanted to instill some hope in people and know that everyone's not alone in this isolation."
"For me, I have good days and I have some really anxious days, so I'm kind of off and on," she added. "I want you to join me in this challenge, I want you to tell me how you really feel and know that you're not alone and know that we're gonna get through this together."
See her post below for more information:
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