Trigger warning: Depression; loss of a loved one

It’s nice to see that more and more celebrities are forthcoming about mental health. These A-listers have spoken out about their own experiences, paving the way for a more accepting society regarding mental health matters.

One of whom is none other than the Internet’s President Nadine Lustre—who is not one to shy away from advocating for better mental health awareness in the country. In fact, she and her friends Liza Soberano and Yassi Pressman have even invested in Mind You, a platform that provides Filipinos easier and affordable access to mental health experts. In an interview, she opened up about how important it is to reduce the stigma around mental health, drawing from her personal experience.

Nadine Lustre talks about struggling with grief following her younger brother’s passing

She admitted to going through a tough time after her younger brother’s passing in 2017—mostly because she was at the height of her career and wasn’t given the proper space to grieve. The host Tessa Albea asked, “Has there been anything in your life that really challenges you, where you had to pick things up, just go, or you know, something that you haven’t talked about?”

The actress answered: “The most challenging one I’ve gone through was when my brother passed away.

“My brother was going through all of these challenges in his mental health as well. I was still doing a variety show every day, so can you imagine? I was grieving at the time, but on TV, I had to smile and interact with people like nothing happened. That was really hard.”

She shared that she asked permission to rest, but was rejected. “At some point, when I felt I was already crumbling, I’d ask for a break. How they responded was like, ‘Just keep working. You’re gonna forget about it.’ And I’m, like… It just goes to show how uneducated and out of touch we are when it comes to mental health issues.”

Nadine continued, “Still to this day, like, every time I think about that time, I still don’t know how I was able to get out of that. It’s kind of, like, autopilot. You had to pull through because it’s a responsibility.

“As much as you want to take a break and breathe from it, you can’t really do anything especially if you’re under contract. You have to honor that.”