Taking to her Instagram account, the 'Descendant' star opens up about her struggle 'with the concept of self, my inner relationship to who I know myself to be and my outer perceivable self who I feel I have never known but other people seem to.'
- May 19, 2022
AceShowbiz - Dove Cameron got real in a new post on her Instagram account on Wednesday, May 18. Sharing a picture of herself crying, the "Descendants 2" actress reflected on her journey to "unlearn self abuse and hatred" in a post.
In the post, the Disney star opened up about her struggle "with the concept of self, my inner relationship to who I know myself to be and my outer perceivable self who I feel I have never known but other people seem to." She went on to note, "I've been crying a lot lately, sometimes terrorized by my identity and image, sometimes in absolute flow with something new and peripheral and joyous to me."
The 26-year-old actress also revealed that she has been "covering mirrors" and "feeling wrong in clothing that used to make me feel beautiful" lately. The star, who came out as queer, added that "sexuality and performative gender norms, societal rewards and identity are really throwing me for a loop."
She claimed that she felt that social media, mirrors, branding and other ways of "broadcasting" our lives for others to see is "not optimal for mental health, clarity of energy or relationship to our inner world," adding, "This is a modern problem not designed with human health in mind."
"We all deserve a life unburdened by the societally created identity, we all deserve to unlearn self abuse and hatred," the "Liv and Maddie" star shared. "I am on that journey now, and I'm sharing so that we may all feel more comfortable in a conversation that may be confusing, and we may navigate something that feels difficult to put to words, together."
In the caption, Dove talked about "identity vs the self" and "depression & dysphoria." She admitted, "more days than not, i feel pulled towards no identity at all, i feel most natural as something imperceivable to myself, an energy and a presence," adding that she felt left out.
"i am beginning to have a hope that the public platform that has been difficult for me to learn to take up space as myself in, can actually be the conduit for change/mutual support/exploration/safety," she wrote, before concluding, "there is room for us to talk about the things that terrify us/can't be commoditized on a large scale, that can't be commercialized and easily sound-bitten. maybe the spaces that are the least human can become the most human, if we want that, and we can all let each other take up a little more space. i love you."
