Gisele Bundchen Reveals Her Battles With Suicidal Thoughts and Panic Attacks
With more and more models speaking out about their painful experiences, Gisele Bundchen took the time to reflect on her past and experiences during the peak of her career.
The supermodel shared that she also suffered serious mental health struggles while climbing the fashion ladder because of extreme pressure. She shared with CBS Sunday Morning the burden of having to go through crippling anxiety 20 years ago, leading her to have suicidal thoughts.
Gisele opened up to Lee Cowan, host of the show, who was visiting her at her home in Costa Rica. She admitted, “You know, I was in tunnels. I couldn’t breathe. And then I started being in studios, and I felt, like, suffocated.”
The Brazilian who models for Louis Vuitton further explained, “I lived on the 9th floor, and I had to go up the stairs because I was afraid I would be stuck on the elevator, and I’d be hyperventilating. … You know when you can’t breathe even when the windows are open, you feel like, I don’t want to live like this, you know what I mean?”
Lee responded by asking if she really thought about jumping, to which she replied, “Yeah. For, like, a second.”
This mental health struggle was something that Gisele talked about in her memoir entitled Lesson: My Path to a Meaningful Life, which was released in 2018. She shared that she consulted a doctor who prescribed her anti-anxiety medications to help with her panic attacks.
But Gisele has always been known for her holistic and natural approach, so she instead tried to manage her panic attacks by doing yoga, learning breathing exercises, and doing regular meditation. In addition, she changed her lifestyle by cutting down on sugar as well as quitting caffeine and smoking. Now 43, the mother-of-two has a cookbook that will be released next year in collaboration with Gaia Supplements.
Gisele further shared that while married to her ex-husband, NFL superstar Tom Brady, they adopted a plant-based approach to their eating.
As a single mom with kids, Gisele admitted that she wouldn’t change anything—not even her publicized divorce with Tom. Although she acknowledged that it was not what she dreamed or hoped for, it is what it is.
Gisele, mother to 13-year-old Benjamin and 10-year-old Vivian, sheepishly said to Lee, “My parents have been married for 50 years, and I really wanted that to happen. But I think you have to accept, you know, sometimes that the way you are in your 20s, it’s sometimes you grow together, sometimes you grow apart. I mean, he’s the father of my kids, you know? So, I always wish him the best, and I’m so grateful that he gave me wonderful children.”
Moving forward, she is happy and excited for what lies ahead. She claims that she’s already in a different place and that’s given her the ability to make decisions based on what she wants.
Gisele admitted that back then, she was surviving life. But today, she is living her life, and that holds a significant difference for her.
