“I took three tranquilizers”: Belen reminds us that strength is not hiding fragility, but showing it (and asking for help)

A viral video has sparked shock and concern on social media after Belen Rodriguez appeared visibly confused during a public interview at a fashion event. Vanity Fair. Many in the main media have triggered a race to see who “has the biggest shot” by hypothesizing who knows what substance intake or altered psychological state.

But the reality was much simpler and much more human and the showgirl chose to explain firsthand what really happened with a video published in her Instagram stories:

I had a panic attack and took some tranquilizers to feel better.

A topic he has already spoken about extensively

His words made it clear that that moment of apparent confusion was linked to a strong crisis of anxiety, not to extravagant behavior or inattention. Belen continued frankly by telling what had happened and continuing a discussion that had already begun several times:

I have never made a secret of my life, I have always talked about the panic attacks and depression I had due to the many panic attacks, one after the other. And I can guarantee that it’s not life.

A situation that she found herself facing even just before the interview and which she tried to stem as best she could:

While I was sleeping, I had a fairly complex panic attack and I took a tranquilizer to feel better… then I took another and then another. The result was an important realization.

The value of showing yourself vulnerable

The showgirl underlined how difficult it is to reveal one’s fragilities when one is constantly under the spotlight and under the weight of judgements: “It wasn’t nice for me to reveal myself like this“. Yet, despite the discomfort and the certainty that many, too many, would have mocked her, she participated in the interview out of a sense of responsibility towards work. A situation in which many of us have found ourselves: that of having to leave the house to go to work, to friends, to a dinner, even though it was the last thing we would have wanted to do:

I wanted to be there for the ‘Vanity’ interview because I have missed work many times precisely so as not to present myself like this.

Stop judging, it’s time to understand each other

The attacks on Belen showed the most vulgar part of our society, always ready to cry scandal without ever delving beyond appearance and stopping at the surface of things. But if there’s anything good this episode can teach us, it’s just how important it is not to judge those who suffer from mental health problems, even when they’re public people who seem invincible.

The fact that his reaction was the subject of mockery and superficial comments, without understanding the real pain behind the image of a “perfect star”, shows how much we still have to learn and work to break the taboos related to this topic.

And it is the showgirl herself who launches a powerful invitation to tackle anxiety, stress, panic attacks and mental illnesses head on, just like she is doing:

I’m sorry, but I’m working on it. I take care of myself, I work a lot with the psychologist, which is something that every person who finds themselves in these situations must do, because otherwise it becomes really complicated.

In recent years, several famous people have spoken openly about these issues, trying to normalize the conversation about mental health. From Lady Gaga to Selena Gomez, up to Emma Marrone, Fedez and Levante, all these testimonies make us understand how even those who appear “superior” to these problems are actually facing internal challenges as difficult as the rest of us. And let us remember every day that recognizing our fragilities and asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but of awareness and strength. Because only when we stop mocking those who suffer from it, then perhaps we will finally be able to get out of it. Together.

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