By Minahil Makhdoom
Pakistani model Mushk Kaleem has in a very short span risen to the pinnacle of success after becoming every designer’s muse.
From representing Pakistan at the prestigious Milan Fashion Week, to be valiant enough to speak against the industry’s endless fixation with fair complexion, Mushk is upping her game with every project she takes on, proving that she is here to stay.
Lately on World Mental Health Day, model Mushk Kaleem opens up about a time she was struggling to make peace with her looks, the scuffle crippling her well-being and distorting it both mentally as well as physically. Often while we look at people from a distance, we are unaware of the constant battles they are fighting within themselves.
She shared her story on Instagram, hoping that those going through the same can get some help and courage to live healthy and happily.
Mushk started off with that 2019, was probably the most rewarding year of her career, but when she look back and think about all that she went through last year, she realized that her mental health had completely taken a back seat.
I was a model, adapting to fame, success and accolades. Of course, everyone thought I was okay, living the dream. I knew then, that to complain about anything would be unthankful. I was hospitalized on my 25th birthday last year. I was almost 48 kilos and I was suffering from severe body dysmorphia. I would spend hours obsessing over my weight, about losing those few inches on my waist, about getting those perfect hips, or about just looking the part. I had started starving myself, not eating for 24 hours and more, I was abusing drugs, I was unhealthy, Mushk added.
Mushk was a 6 feet girl suffering from severe anorexia.
She would occasionally blackout. She needed help. She thought it had less to do with her field of work and more to do with how she was okay with being so self-destructive. She was comfortable with being unhappy.
Now a year later, Mushk is a happier person. She has been clean for more than a year. She have found support and happiness in family, friends, and pets. Mushk have set boundaries that she never let people cross. She decided that she could still be beautiful, no matter what number the weighing scale would say.
Mushk also opened up about how going to therapy and putting herself first that put her on the road to recovery.
“I tackled my issues head on, and at first it was scary and it aggravated my anxiety, but I’ve grown, and I’ve healed.
It’s still an ongoing process of recovery that I’m on, but I’m glad I started somewhere, says Mushk.
At last Mushk added that our mental health impacts our thoughts, our actions and our lives. Here’s to taking care of our minds, our bodies, our souls.
