23 September 2023 , 16:45
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Gisele Bündchen has candidly opened up about her mental health struggles, which she experienced during the peak of her modelling career.
In an upcoming episode of CBS News Sunday Morning she describes feeling "suffocated" to journalist Lee Cowan, explaining that she "couldn't breathe" and would be "hyperventilating." Gisele said: "You know, I was in tunnels. I couldn’t breathe and then I started being in studios, and I felt, like, suffocated.”
She recalled living on the ninth floor of a building at the time and having to take the stairs because she had a fear of getting stuck in the elevator. She explained: “I’d be hyperventilating. … You know when you can’t breathe even when the windows are open, you feel like, I don’t want to live like this, you know what I mean?”
Gisele signed a five-year contract with Victoria's Secret (WireImage)
She has since revealed her true feelings during the peak of her career (WireImage)Lee then bluntly asked whether the supermodel ever thought "about jumping," to which she replied: “Yeah. For, like, a second." At the the peak of her career, Gisele was a Victoria's Secret angel, before which she had opened shows for Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, and Valentino and has been one of the highest-paid models in the world since 2001.
She first addressed her suicidal thoughts in 2018 ahead of the release of her memoir, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life, and had told People : "I had a wonderful position in my career, and I was very close to my family, and I always considered myself a positive person, so I was really beating myself up. Like, ‘Why should I be feeling this?’ I felt like I wasn’t allowed to feel bad.
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She revealed her suicidal thoughts back in 2018 (CBS News)"But I felt powerless. Your world becomes smaller and smaller, and you can’t breathe, which is the worst feeling I’ve ever had," Gisele added. "I actually had the feeling of, ‘If I just jump off my roof, this is going to end, and I never have to worry about this feeling of my world closing in.
“It felt like everything in my life was going to kill me. First it was the airplanes, then elevators. Then it was tunnels and hotels and modelling studios and cars. Now it was my own apartment. Everything had become a cage, and I was the animal trapped inside, panting for air. I couldn’t see a way out, and I couldn’t stand another day of feeling this way.”
For emotional support in the UK you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website. Or in the US if you are in crisis or feel suicidal and need someone to talk to, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.