Ginger Zee reveals series of M3ntal Health Diagn0ses, leaving fans in Sh0ck!
Ginger Zee’s health diagnoses: Everything we know
She’s been through so much
Ginger Zee has made no secret of her battles with her m3ntal health and her new book A Little Closer to Home delves even further into her struggles.
But it’s not only d3pressi0n which the GMA meteorologist has dealt with as a series of other diagnoses have reared their heads during her life journey.
The mom-of-two has been open about everything she has been through in a bid to help herself and others and here’s what she’s said about her conditions.
Ginger Zee and suffers from narcolepsy
Ginger’s sleep issues began when she was in high school when she would fall asleep at every given turn. But it took something incredibly serious for her to be diagnosed with narcolepsy.
Speaking to Narcolepsy 360 she revealed: “I still didn’t know that [I was falling asleep] until I got into three different car accidents. I began closet smoking. I was doing everything in my power to stay awake while driving because I was so afraid of hurting myself and other people in the car.
“I couldn’t explain why I was falling asleep and it wasn’t until the third crash when I crossed the medium and almost went onto the other side of the highway that I got help.
A sleep study at the age of 21 revealed she was narcoleptic and she said that diagnosis was the start of her journey.
© Photo: Instagram
Ginger is incredibly grateful for the support of her family
How does Ginger Zee deal with her d3pressi0n?
Just days before Ginger began her long-standing job at ABC, she checked herself into a m3ntal health hospital to seek help.
For years she had been struggling with d3pressi0n. She had attempted su1c1d3, been the victim of serious s3xu@l @ss@ult and felt she always needed to hide what she was going through.
Now she attempts to beat down the stigma attached to d3pressi0n and m3ntal health by being open about her own experiences.
Xem bài viết này trên Instagram
Ginger says behind her smile she was suffering
She still goes to therapy and has “gray days,” but says they’re not “black” and hopeless anymore.
An excerpt from her new book reads: “The moment I mention my h0spitalization, though, people’s ears perk up and their eyes widen—the action I took still has a stigma. And that’s what needs to change. Like drug and alcohol rehabilitation, m3ntal rehabilitation should be looked at through the same lens. Disease. Treatment. Thriving.”
Xem bài viết này trên Instagram
Ginger hopes to help others by opening up in her book A Little Closer to Home
In an interview with People, she added: “I fought a disease called d3pressi0n that a lot of people fight every single day.
“The hundreds of thousands or millions of people who are dealing with or dealt with something I did, I want them to be able to fight without shame.”
Ginger Zee’s battle with an0r3xia
In high school, Ginger also battled an eating disorder which would be ongoing for years. In a heartwrenching letter to her younger self, she documented the lengths she would go to to avoid food and how, after dropping to a “frightening size,” her mother checked her into a m3ntal health hospital.
While she gradually recovered, she admitted: “As you grow into an adult, you do a lot of work in therapy on the eating issues as well as what caused them, but you still spend about 80% of the day thinking about food.
© Photo: Instagram
Through therapy and support Ginger has fought her demons
“You’ll probably never be completely cured. An0r3xia, for you, is something that can be managed but never fully repaired.
“But every day you have a choice to be honest about how you are feeling and to take care of yourself.”
She added: “You are fortunate to have gotten out. Share your story and help others.”
Ginger has b0rderline pers0nality dis0rder
It was following Ginger’s last attempted su1c1d3 in her twenties that she was diagnosed with severe d3pressi0n and b0rderline p3rs0nality dis0rder. The condition affects how the person thinks, feels and interacts with other people.
In a recent Instagram Q&A with fans, Ginger addressed this when she said finding the right therapist is imperative to treatment.
© Photo: Instagram
She is so thankful for her husband Ben Aaron and their children
“I thought he was mean and he was cold because he wasn’t like any of the therapists I had had before,” she confessed, but realized he was the right one for the job.
“Just as you can have a personal trainer who doesn’t work for you,” she said, you can have the wrong therapist too. “This personal trainer of my brain, he helped me so much.”
She concluded by saying: “Get the right therapist by getting the right diagnosis.”
