Willow Smith has always been one to be fairly open about the mental health struggles she has encountered over the years, but the 20-year-old star is taking a fresh dive into unpacking such issues in a new episode of “Red Table Talk.”
During the episode, Smith touches on her ongoing anxiety issues and the root causes of them, including their relations to past life events and how she looks to move forward from it all despite the adversity she finds herself encountering.
A Constant Fear
During the clip from the new episode, Smith gets very candid with her mother, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and her grandmother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, attempting to unpack for them what it’s like for her when nerves overcome all else.
“Four days ago, I was having extreme anxiety,” the youngest Smith recalled to her family members/co-hosts. “I couldn’t talk, I had to just cocoon and like be with myself for a moment.”
These fears are a constant in Smith’s daily life as she works to combat severe anxiety and its affects on her.
Addressing Jada
Turning to speak directly to her mother, so she could understand the weight of her statement, the star added, “That was so important because it would have been so much more intense if I had been looking to you to be like, ‘Help me!'”
Luckily with some time and effort, Smith was able to somewhat overcome the overbearing feelings and open up a bit more, furthering her words to her mother by adding, “And then, when I was ready, I opened the cocoon.”
A Special Episode
Throughout this special new episode of “Red Table Talk,” one of the highlights was that the family tapped suicide attempt survivors to share their unique stories combating mental health and intrusive thoughts such as those on a daily basis.
The “Whip My Hair” artist is no stranger to the emotional crisis’ that others face, and wants to share her story with the world in order to further the dialogue that those experiencing similar thoughts are not alone as they battle their issues.
Making A Safe Space
“There’s shame, there’s guilt, there’s sadness and confusion,” she explained of the trials and tribulations those with mental health issues face. “And then you don’t even want to talk about it because you’re like, ‘I feel crazy, and I don’t want them to think I’m crazy so I’m just not gonna say anything.'”
During a previous “Red Table Talk,” Smith touched on her struggles as well, saying, “And after all of that kind of settled down and it was like a kind of lull, I was just listening to a lot of dark music. It was just so crazy, and I was plunged into this black hole, and I was, like, cutting myself.”