Kendall Jenner, 25, may be one of the most sought-after models in the world, but she’s just like the rest of us when it comes to mental health. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, who has been in the spotlight since she was a pre-teen, appeared in first episode of Vogue’s new four-part video series, Open Minded, on May 5. In the clip, Kendall recalled suffering anxiety symptoms from a young age. “I remember being really young and having shortness of breath and going to my mom and telling her that,” the supermodel said.
“In hindsight, now I know that that was obviously anxiety … Being overworked is kind of what set it out of control. I’ve had times where I feel like I need to be rushed to the hospital because I think that my heart’s failing and I can’t breathe and I need someone to help me,” the 818 tequila founder explained. “Sometimes I think I’m dying, sometimes parts of my body will go numb. It can be really intense and scary.”
Although she acknowledges her many privileges — the KarJenner family are one of the wealthiest and most affluent in the world — Kendall hopes people will understand she’s also human. “There [are] going to be those people that say, ‘What does she have to worry about? What does she have to be anxious about?’ And I’ll never sit here and say I’m not fortunate…[but] I’m still a human being at the end of the day,” she said in the clip.
“And no matter what someone has or doesn’t have, it doesn’t mean they don’t have real-life feelings and emotions,” Kendall explained. In the first episode, she sits down with Dr. Ramani Durvasula to discuss social anxiety. “One of the most important things, I think, is to destigmatize all mental health issues, particularly anxiety, because a lot of people think they’re alone with it,” the Los Angeles–based psychologist said. “Anxiety is like a magnifying glass. It magnifies only the bad things … in essence, what we’re trying to do is take that magnifying glass and put it to being a regular lens.” Watch the full video above.