Cara Delevingne has shared an unexpected habit that helps lift her mood when she’s having a rough day.
The 33-year-old model and actress recently opened up about the unique thing she does when she needs a mental pick-me-up. Instead of scrolling through typical social media content, she heads to fundraising pages.
Speaking with Variety, Delevingne said she sometimes browses GoFundMe campaigns — which are often created to help people dealing with financial hardship — when she’s having what she described as a “s**tty day.”
"I like seeing an actual dent that you can make to help someone," she told the outlet.
© CBS via Getty ImagesWhile she still uses social media, Delevingne admitted she’s been trying to cut back on how much time she spends on Instagram.
"That algorithm is not meant for good things," she explained.
She added that although she hasn’t gone as far as deleting the app, it’s something she’s constantly trying to manage.
"I haven't gotten to the point where I've deleted Instagram off my phone yet, but I'm constantly working on self-control because I find myself going on there without even realizing I am. It's terrifying."
Delevingne has been open over the years about her mental health struggles, including difficult moments earlier in her life.
At one point, she described her teenage years as feeling like being on "a rollercoaster to hell."
"I'm not in hell now," she said during an appearance on This Morning. "The things that stick with all of us the most are the darker times, the more traumatic times."
She continued, "Those are some of the points I remember the most. I didn't know how to communicate my emotions. I was very ashamed of the way I felt."
Despite growing up in a privileged environment, Delevingne said she still faced serious mental health challenges.
© Brianna Bryson"I had a very privileged upbringing, I was very lucky, I went to an amazing school."
She went on to explain, "(But) I had depression and I had moments when I didn't want to carry on. And then the guilt of feeling that way and not being able to tell anyone because I shouldn't feel that way and I shouldn't feel bad. It's the guilt."
Now, she hopes sharing her story can help others who may be going through something similar.
"That's what I want to be for teenagers, not necessarily a role model, but someone who has been through it and come out the other side."
© Kevin WinterThe actress has previously spoken in more detail about her battle with depression during her younger years, admitting there was a time when she struggled deeply with how she felt about herself.
"I hated myself for being depressed, I hated feeling depressed, I hated feeling.
"I was very good at disassociating from emotion completely. And all the time I was second-guessing myself, saying something and then hating myself for saying it."
She added that during that time, she didn’t fully understand what she was experiencing.
"I didn't understand what was happening apart from the fact that I didn't want to be alive anymore. I wish I could have given myself a hug. I wish I'd known that I was still in there somewhere, that I wasn't my own worst enemy, that I wasn't trapped.
"That if you can hold on for dear life – because being a teenager can feel like you're on a rollercoaster to hell, that's what it honestly felt like to me – you can get through it."
