Clayton Echard is diving into territory not explored by very many in Bachelor Nation.
Echard’s legacy in Bachelor Nation will perhaps best be remembered as being shaped by his post-show experience rather than the roses he gave out to the lucky ladies during his season of “The Bachelor.”
The outcome of Echard’s season was defined by his decision to tell his final two contestants he had not only been intimate with both of them during fantasy suite week, but he was also in love with both women. Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia were incredibly blindsided by Echard’s confession and would go on to experience yet another jaw-dropping moment after Echard revealed he was ALSO in love with recently-departed third place contestant, Susie Evans.
The Blast has covered many elements of Echard’s post-‘Bachelor’ life, including the occurrences which would go on to inspire Echard to pursue a career as a motivational speaker and wellness coach.
As the former ‘Bachelor’ learns to navigate his new career path, he is sharing his transparent thoughts and discoveries with his followers often through Instagram!
On Thursday morning, Echard posted an iPhone text note, sharing his thoughts on a subject he feels is rarely discussed publicly. In the six-slide note, Echard opens his heart about how it feels to experience the whirlwind of achieving fame at lightning speed and the mental health struggles that can often ensue when the spotlight begins to gradually fade.
Echard Tackles His Healing Journey By Confronting His Past
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As The Blast reported last month, Echard gave Instagram a bit of a sneak peek into his healing regime.
Following the finale of his ‘Bachelor’ season, the now-mental health advocate faced an incomprehensible amount of criticism and public shaming, including an onslaught of ‘hateful’ direct messages in his inbox. Echard would later go on to display those messages as part of a power point as he began embarking on speaking engagements.
In an Instagram post from November 18th, Echard dove into the steps he took to make healing happen and how he began moving forward.
“A big part of my own healing has dealt with me addressing my past. More specifically, it has been accepting things for what they are, but also being grateful for what they have shaped me into. Good or bad, everything from my past played a valuable part in what I’ve learned to love today and for that, I am thankful for every last bit of it,” he wrote in the reel’s caption.
Echard Vulnerably Discusses Depression In New iPhone Note On Instagram
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The concept of sharing his heart so publicly is far from being new to Echard. In addition to discussing his mental health, he openly shared insight into his mental state following his split with Evans earlier this fall.
Now, Echard is publicly discussing the negative mental health effects that can occur after one’s so-called ’15 minutes of fame’ begins to fade.
In the note, which is written in white text on a black background, Echard begins, “There’s something pressing that has been on my mind that I want to be vulnerable and share with you all to bring a sense of awareness to this matter I feel isn’t spoken about, as many people in a similar position to me feel guilty for doing so.”
He then goes into detail about the topic on the second slide.
“It’s this withdrawal or comedown effect that often occurs post-fame or post-success. I’ve spoken with various individuals that have been in the spotlight and then all of a sudden are out of it. And when they are removed from it, depression can often follow suit. We just aren’t as enthusiastic about life as we were in the moments where we were experiencing a more exciting lifestyle. But why is this? Why can’t we just go back to what we knew once before?”
Echard then divulges his own experience in coping with this type of loss.
“In my experience, it has to do with dopamine releases (something we as humans don’t typically consciously control), known as the ‘feel-good’ hormone, occurring in the brain and a sharp drop in them as we acclimate back to post-success life. We no longer are getting these natural highs when our dopamine levels are constantly elevated. It’s quiet [sic] the opposite… as normal life no longer excites us. A low or depressed dopamine level is directly correlated with sadness and a lack of motivation and since we are no longer experiencing the natural highs, we can fall victim to the state of addiction. We crave ‘chasing the high’ and try to get back to what we once had because we just want to ‘feel good’ again…”
Echard shares he does not want messages of sympathy for his post. Instead, he hopes he can help raise awareness of these rarely discussed and often confusing feelings.
For fans who are interested in learning more about Echard’s new coaching business, he regularly posts about it on Instagram.
