Liesl Laurie-Mthombeni opens up about feeling anxious
"Today I’m showing up 100% to my crying session."
In 2022/23, an average of 37.1% of women and 29.9% of men reported high levels of anxiety. This is according to a report by Mental Health Foundation.
Feeling anxious is not the same as suffering from Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). According to The South African Depression and Anxiety Group, GAD is much more than the normal anxiety people experience day to day because it is characterised by exaggerated worry and tension, even though nothing seems to provoke it.
Medical News Today further differentiates the two: 'Anxiety is an emotion characterised by tension, worried thoughts, and physical characteristics, such as increased blood pressure. An anxiety disorder involves recurring, intrusive thoughts or concerns and other specific criteria that lead to a diagnosis.'
Over the years, many celebrities have come out to talk about the times they have had to deal with anxiety.
On Wednesday, Liesl Laurie-Mthombeni took to Instagram to talk about how she has recently been dealing with a lot, which has caused her to feel anxious.
Sharing a photo of herself in the car with teary eyes, Liesl wrote: "I always take selfies when I look my best but sometimes I look like this and that’s okay. It’s also very normal to me."
She said she has been dealing with general anxiety.
"I woke up before 6 this morning feeling extremely overwhelmed by everything. I don’t know if it’s the last quarter of the year push or just general anxiety to “kill it” at everything."
The former Miss South Africa went on to talk about the double standards that women have to deal with and how that weighs down on their emotions.
"When watching the Barbie movie Gloria’s (America Ferrera) monologue resonated with me so much because it highlighted the impossible double standard of being a woman," she wrote on Instagram.
"We have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong," she added.
"You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin…You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time…You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood. But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault,” she explained.
READ: Dr Musa Mthombeni hits back at haters: How much love is too much?
She said most of what was seen in the movie resonates with her.
"I resonated with many different parts to the monologue and I’ve come to accept that some days will really just give you a moerse punch in the gut. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I show up 100% for work, gym, family time etc so today I’m showing up 100% to my crying session. Tomorrow? We shall see what tomorrow brings. We trust God for the joy he brings in the morning," she wrote.
Liesl went on to thank her husband, Dr Musa Mthombeni, for being supportive.
"Side note: having the best husband in the world helps," she wrote.
Dr Musa was one of the first people to comment.
"Oh no my baby dog. I love you, man. It always works out in the end but the feelings must always be felt. Num you!" he wrote.
READ: Dr Musa Mthombeni jokes he wants to be a "househusband"
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Image courtesy of Instagram