Modelling is a high-pressure job. As well as the widely acknowledged issues many have associated with the “thin ideal”, food restriction, and body image, there are also stresses linked to when the next job will come in, where it will be, navigating to the jobs and how to adapt to trends.
With the amount of pressure models are under from all angles, it’s unsurprising that many reach a point where something has to give.
Burnout is common, and for many dealing with stress leads to addiction where unhealthy coping mechanisms have been adopted to manage stress levels.
Below, there’s guidance and tips on how to take actionable steps that facilitate self-care and addiction recovery.
Recognising the Signs
The most common mental health challenges in the modelling world are linked to stress, exhaustion, and self-esteem issues.
If you’re wondering if you or someone you care about is suffering then there signs to keep an eye out for. Being aware of these helps people to ways to address them. The earlier that signs of poor mental health are noticed, the easier they are to treat.
Early warning signs of burnout and addiction
- Disturbed sleep and Insomnia
- Fluctuations in weight
- Changes in diet and increasing controlling behaviours
- Ruminating thoughts and feelings of anxiety or panic (this might include OCD behaviours)
- Low mood, low motivation and feeling helpless and is if life isn’t worth living
- Increasing substance use (alcohol, drugs, pharmaceuticals)
It’s incredibly important to acknowledge the problem by facing it head-on with compassion.
Prioritising Self-Esteem
The beauty industry sets the standards for the world. Being a model means being under the spotlight. The feeling of needing to be perfect becomes an intense pressure. Having your looks scrutinised by people in the industry comes with severe consequences. It’s common for models to develop low self-worth.
To address this, it’s highly recommended to develop a daily practise that supports nurturing self-esteem.
Strategies for building and maintaining self-esteem
Practising positive self-talk. This means going inwards. Speaking with your inner Self with kindness. Taking the time to remember and articulate your beautiful traits and skills. It’s important to include personality traits and behaviours in this, as well as including appearance.
You might create a list of positive things that you’re proud of about yourself and spend meditative time repeating helpful phrases either out loud, or internally.
Setting realistic personal goals. Being a model can be all-consuming. One thing to remember is that there is more to life than career. There are other hobbies and interests. Developing these and working to goals in other areas that make you feel happy has great potential in building both resilience and self-worth. You might, for instance, love reading or art or travel. Set goals in these areas and celebrate your wins.
Establishing Healthy Routines
A significant factor when it comes to looking after mental health is developing daily and weekly routines. This helps life to have structure and purpose.
To begin with, it’s helpful to be able to clearly distinguish between work and personal life. Setting clear boundaries can be tricky at first but they’re self-protective. It might mean, for instance, specifying very clearly before a week starts when you will take time to enjoy a hobby or rest during that week.
Modelling is a 24/7 hour industry and it can eat into a person’s life. If you know you have three days of high-intensity work and travel to get there, then pick your rest days and be sure to solely focus on rest and recuperation.
When addressing burnout, it’s essential to develop healthy routines in relation to restful sleep, ensuring you take in balanced nutrition, and get regular exercise.
For sleep, you might have set times to turn off screens, read, or listen to music, bathe, and then unwind before bed.
In relation to eating, diet and body image are a challenging issue. Seek advice from a nutritionist and doctor who can support you to develop a food plan that you feel comfortable with but that also gets in those vital nutrients. From here, take the time to get the food and to eat it to support your body.
Exercise is a great way to look after your body, relieve stress, and improve mood. On the days you aren’t working, set times to take part in an exercise you enjoy. Finding something you like makes the behaviour more sustainable.
Other healthy routines to develop are those linked to relaxation and developing healthy coping mechanisms. These are also key in supporting against substance use and addiction.
It’s easy to set a daily reminder to do breathwork, a mindfulness activity, to meditate, start gratitude journaling, or do some yoga.
Tip? Set your alarm ten minutes earlier each day with a reminder to practise your chosen relaxation technique. This soon becomes a comforting habit that can be powerfully grounding.
Finally, it’s crucial to limit, or stop using harmful substances or going to unhelpful environments. Removing unhealthy triggers and coping mechanisms means you immediately have to find other more helpful ways to manage burnout and stress.
Building and Relying on Support Systems
Though it might feel really hard, communication is everything when it comes to improving mental health and building resilience and self-esteem.
Consider who in your life genuinely cares about how you’re doing. Those without expectations and those who you don’t feel pressure around.
For some people, this includes family or friends. For others, it means people they’ve sought out as mentors.
Share your thoughts, see where conversations take you. The cliché, “a problem shared is a problem halved” is a cliché because it’s been used so much; people do feel better after a conversation with someone who cares.
Perhaps you know some in the modelling community who’s a good listener, who has helpful advice, and who also understands the industry. Seeking support from within the modelling community can also bring helpful insight, ideas, and guidance on how to address things going forward. This can feel particularly reassuring.
Finally, it’s crucial to acknowledge that sometimes, people in your life already might not be enough. There are some issues that are deeper, or some that you really want to remain private. In these cases, accessing professional help from counsellors, therapists, or recovery programmes, is essential to improving your future wellbeing. For instance, individuals dealing with dependency on medications like benzodiazepines may benefit from a medically supervised benzo detox, which ensures safety while supporting long-term recovery and mental well-being.
Addiction Recovery Tips Specific to Models
If you’re struggling with addiction issues linked to alcohol, drugs, pharmaceuticals, gambling, or any other vice, you can both help yourself and also seek professional help.
Firstly, it’s useful to keep in mind that triggers in the modelling world are unique to the industry (i.e. travel, parties, and long hours). Therefore, you need to be honest and open with yourself and smart about how to manage yourself.
Addiction is a disease that takes over the brain affecting thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It may take professional rehab treatment to overcome severe habits. In the professional setting, you’ll be able to get as much guidance as necessary to help you understand how to deal with triggers effectively and to become sober.
My conclusion
Burnout is common for those in high-pressured jobs, and this is especially seen in the modelling world where models are in a unique environment. Not only is there the pressure to travel and perform, there are the beauty standards set by the industry that can all lead to severe consequences.
As well as burnout, ongoing mental health conditions are common (i.e., anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and addiction).
This is why developing a self-care routine and seeking support is essential. There’s no shame in looking after yourself and getting the help you need.
By making the effort to nurture improved mental health and wellbeing, life becomes much easier and enjoyable. When you take those initial small steps, you’ll start to feel a difference immediately.
