Bella Hadid opened up through Instagram Stories about chronic illness flare-ups that leave her with exhaustion, brain fog, anxiety, and plans canceled—along with a moment of clarity that she’s been living this reality for 15 years.
Bella Hadid didn’t write like someone posting for attention—she wrote like someone trying to make her own pain make sense.
On Instagram Thursday. the supermodel shared a raw account of what life with chronic illness has been like lately. describing the day-to-day burden of pain. exhaustion. fatigue. anxiety. brain fog. and insecurities. She wrote that chronic illness also brings co-infections. mental health struggles. and trauma. leading to severe isolation and depression “especially over long periods of time. ” adding that even when she tries “anything you can. ” the search for answers can feel impossible.
In her message. Hadid described the exhausting cycle: learning symptoms. reading books. reading other people’s stories. and even attempting self-diagnosis when she “demand[s] answers that no one can find.” She then wrote about the hope that follows—“You finally have a few good days”—and how that hope can collapse when a flare-up returns. leaving her feeling that “nothing feels certain again.”.
She said the flare-ups knock her plans off course and make even basic decisions hard because she never knows what she’ll feel like from day to day. “You wake up with anxiety already living in your body. ” she wrote. adding that physical pain can arrive before her feet even touch the floor. Despite that. she said she still has to push through—“another day in a body and mind that are completely exhausted”—while masking feelings she can’t fully explain.
Hadid also spoke about what keeps her going. writing about her faith in God and urging others who might be struggling to know they’re not alone. She shared that she believes every hardship leaves a lesson. deeper compassion. or a strength she never knew she had. and she said she has “so much gratitude for life. ” even though it’s “hard to find joy or purpose or reason to even go outside.” Her message ended with a direct reassurance: “anyone struggling… you are loved. You are needed. Your life has purpose.”.
In a second post, however, the optimism clearly isn’t always enough. She wrote, “Haven’t been able to shake off this flare up… Slept 11 hours,” followed by “Again…. Nap everyday. ” adding that she took “every protocol from any and every doctor I’ve seen” and that “still [nothing was] helping.” She also wrote. “IFYKY. ” then said she’d “diagnosed [herself] with 12 other things.”.
She pushed back on advice in a way that sounded like she was running on fumes. “And today is not the day to tell me to journal,” she wrote. She said she drank water. but she didn’t go on a walk because she was out of breath walking to the kitchen—writing that she “took a shower without fainting tho… so again. if you know you know… that felt like a really big accomplishment for me today.” She added that she was joking about it at the end. saying she wished someone could “send me a cookie or something.”.
On Friday, Hadid followed up again, saying she is okay and that she doesn’t want people to worry. “I’m sorry if I worried anyone. ” she wrote. describing how her situation is “my reality” and something she can cope with “to a capacity now.” She said this has been an “every day. ebb and Flo” experience for the past 15 years. and she explained that the emotion overwhelming her wasn’t only about the limits—it was about not being able to do the things her mind is capable of setting while her body is not capable of doing.
The posts land as a picture of endurance—hope that returns after good days, and the reality that flare-ups can take it away again. Hadid’s final message is simpler than the details: she’s living with this, she’s coping, and she’s asking people to meet others like her with love instead of pressure.
Bella Hadid Instagram Stories chronic illness flare-ups health update fatigue brain fog anxiety mental health faith in God
If she’s crying in bed I hope she gets help like for real.
Brain fog and anxiety… sure. But didn’t she used to just be like, super healthy? I feel like everyone’s got chronic something now. Not saying it isn’t real, just confused. Maybe it’s stress from fashion stuff?
I read the headline and was like “oh no” then the article says it’s been 15 years, and that part hit me. The way she describes co-infections and getting nowhere with answers… that’s literally how it feels when doctors act like it’s all in your head. I don’t know her personally but I’m glad she’s sharing it, even if the posting itself makes people judge her.
15 years of flare-ups sounds awful but also I’m skeptical like… how do they not know what it is? If it’s that long, shouldn’t there be a diagnosis by now? Also “feet don’t touch the floor” like okay poetic, but could be something else like thyroid or whatever. People always cancel plans and then post anyway like it’s a choice, ya know? Idk, I’m just tired of influencers making everything sound so dramatic.