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DeWanda Wise

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While many people were celebrating the power of womanhood on International Women’s Day, for actress DeWanda Wise of She’s Gotta Have It fame, she opened up about the vulnerabilities that come with it. For all of the strong moments we have, many of us can go through the lowest of lows due to our circumstances and mental health. The 33-year-old shared that after receiving some tough news, she was feeling emotionally down during this week of women empowerment.

“Ya girl got some pretty challenging news this week, & on this #InternationalWomensDay I find myself battling sadness & #depression,” she wrote on Instagram. “Still, I’m thankful for the highs and lows. Combined they make me both confident and compassionate. In them I find just how strong my weaknesses are. I keep hearing ‘Life is not happening to you, it’s happening for you’ & today I’m struggling to make the truth of that stick”:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgEp_8sjkW8/

This actually isn’t the first time Wise has spoken publicly about her battles with depression. Last summer she interviewed her mother for the National Alliance on Mental Illness to share how her mom’s incarceration (which happened from 2008 to 2010) greatly impacted not only her emotional health but her physical health as well. As she wrote, “I never felt more alone in my life.”

Speaking on their relationship prior to the time her mother served, she said, “my mom has always been as much of a friend as a mother, and before this period we spoke every day. The years she spent incarcerated were intensified by my severe depression and overeating disorder.”

Thankfully though, in both situations past and present, Wise has found comfort in important things. That includes her faith in particular during her mom’s time away, and in the case of this week’s sadness, in other strong women “whose resolve & tenacity keeps me going.” That type of support has helped her to be able to be encouraged while encouraging others battling with depression to do the same.

“If you’re battling something today,” she said, “let’s make another day together.”

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