Aileen Iwamoto, better known as Iwa Moto, recently opened up about her mental health struggles on both Youtube and Instagram. The actress shared on her online platforms that she has long been diagnosed with bipolar with severe panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and restless leg syndrome (RLS).
She took to social media to talk about the reality of mental health issues and the stigma that surrounds it.
(Here’s our directory for mental health hotlines, support groups, and more)
“Everyday I struggle to live my life as normal as possible,” Moto wrote on Instagram. “It’s hard for me to wake up and sleep.. to control my emotions. To be as jolly as I used to be. And to be ME. But everyday I fight my condition. I take my meds… and i put on a smile. I am surviving everyday.. ”
“Having mental health issues is hard. Esp with the stigma,” Moto continues. “But its ok.. I have accepted it and I AM OK with it. I am learning to live with it, but at the same time doing my best not to be defined by my illness. I am striving to become a better version of me everyday. I AM A WARRIOR.”
On a vlog uploaded to her Youtube channel Moto talked about coming out with the truth so that she would no longer have to pretend she was okay. She went into more detail about her diagnosis and experiences with the goal of connecting to others who are going through similar situations.
Moto hopes for her story to act as call for others to “fight like a warrior” and see that “life is still worth living.”
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