Naomi Campbell admits she struggles with self-care: 'I personally have to fight for my peace of mind'
Naomi Campbell is getting candid about her journey with self-care, opening up to The Cut about how being in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse has led her down a path of overall self-improvement.
"I’m in recovery. I’m very proud to be," the 51-year-old told the publication, acknowledging the work that she's done on herself since first entering a rehab facility just over two decades ago. "I personally have to fight for my peace of mind. I first learned to do that in 1999. It’s the best thing I ever did, to finally have the courage to say to people who benefited from me, 'I'm really sorry. I have to take time out to take care of myself,' without any fear of what I would be losing or what I would miss out on."
Campbell has been open about her struggles with substance abuse in the past, telling ABC News's Diane Sawyer in 2004 that her addiction to cocaine was rather easy to keep up with as a result of her model lifestyle. "I was living this life of traveling the world and having people just give you anything," she said at the time, explaining that her behavior ended up taking a toll on her personality altogether. "You become short-tempered ... Your little charm goes. The little glow in your face goes."
In the years since first going to rehab, Campbell has worked to both maintain relationships and make new ones both in and outside of the industry. But the most important relationship that she's developed through this time is the one with herself.
"I don’t have a problem looking at myself in the mirror anymore and facing and owning who I am," she said. She also alluded to gaining an understanding of how to properly use her influence. "When I was younger, I wasn’t always using it in the right way. It takes growth."
And while Campbell can acknowledge the way that she misused her platform earlier on in her career, she applauded those that have learned to use their celebrity to speak out on important issues — namely, mental health — like Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles.
"I know that it must have been so hard for these young ladies to actually just finally be able to come out and say it: 'Enough.' God knows there are people in the past who have suffered and not been able to come out," she said. "Everyone just expects them to be perfect and be on every single time. I just have total praise and respect, and I’m in awe that they had the courage to do the right thing, to take care of themselves."
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