People are using makeup to show what mental illness really looks like

"Mental illness shouldn't have to be hidden away, let's start to talk about it."

Beauty blogger Yasaman Gheidi wants to end the stigma around mental illness

Beauty blogger Yasaman Gheidi wants to end the stigma around mental illness. Source: Instagram

Makeup is usually used to cover up and conceal, but one beauty blogger wants people who are dealing with mental illness to use makeup to reveal what's going on under the surface. 

Canadian Yasaman Gheidi, who calls herself a "self-love and mental health advocate", started the #InsideoutChallenge, which asks people to use makeup to express how they feel on the inside and post their photos on social media.

Gheidi, who told  she was inspired by the Disney-Pixar movie "Inside Out", created looks to illustrate what her depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) would look like if they were visible conditions. 

"Just by doing this challenge you are making a difference," Gheidi, aka , wrote on Instagram.

"You are not only starting an important dialogue about mental health, but you are also telling your friends and family that they are not alone in their struggles, and most importantly you are proving to yourself that you are one incredibly brave person."
"People don't look at people with other visible illnesses and judge that person's character based on their illness, so why is there still so much judgement and stigma around mental illness," Gheidi wrote on her post about depression.

Others have been quick to respond with their own #InsideoutChallenge photos.

"This is my representation of my depression. Forced to smile when I am mentally broken," shared @, while wrote: "I decided to finally do this challenge (it's not really a challenge, it's my life) not for sympathy or attention, but to show you a different face I have. It's not easy living in my mind, and not easy for so many others."

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2 min read
Published 1 May 2017 3:58pm
Updated 1 May 2017 4:03pm
By Alyssa Braithwaite


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