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Speaking with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts earlier today about her soon-to-be-released new book, Destiny’s Child alum Michelle Williams shared an encouraging message for those who might be struggling with depression but are afraid to seek help.
Sharing her own experience battling depression — which she dealt with undiagnosed from the time she was 13-years-old — Williams told Roberts, “I found help when my responses [to life] — just the anger and the irritability and the bitterness — was just out of character for me.”
“And I just sought some help and that’s when I got a diagnosis in my 30s that it was in fact depression,” she added.
Roberts mentioned that in Williams’ book — which recounts the latter’s battle with depression “even in the midst of enormous fame and success” — the singer opened up about suffering from a “psychotic break” right around the time her engagement to Chad Johnson was broken off back in 2018.
Explaining why she chose to make that experience of hers public and how she thought doing so might help others, Williams said, “Well, to definitely silence the shame and amplify one’s courage and bravery to say, ‘I’m not feeling okay. My responses and reactions are a little out of character.’”
“‘I need help’ are the strongest words a person can say,” she added directly after. “There are times when I’m not the most vulnerable, but in the past three years, I’ve had no choice.”
According to PEOPLE, Williams’ new book Checking In: How Getting Real about Depression Saved My Life — and Can Save Yours will be available on May 25. See the clip of Williams’ interview with Roberts down below.
