"I dont want worrying about if I look hot or not on Instagram to be my legacy," the actor wrote. "I dont want to skirt around the truth to please other people or to gain economic success. I have far more important things to say than what magazine I just shot for or what tv show Im a part of (Although Im very thankful I still get to do what I love). I no longer want to project a curated life."
Colton Haynes Shared a Throwback Hospital Photo While Opening Up About Depression and Addiction
Colton Haynes just opened up about his mental health journey on Instagram, in a post which acknowledges how that social media platform has played a role in his self-image. The throwback photos show Haynes in a hospital bed, far from the picture-perfect images that we've come to expect from Hollywood stars. And that, says Haynes, is part of the problem.
How Instagram Affected Colton Haynes' Body Image
View this post on Instagram Throwback. I dont want worrying about if I look hot or not on Instagram to be my legacy. I dont want to skirt around the truth to please other people or to gain economic success. I have far more important things to say than what magazine I just shot for or what tv show Im a part of (Although Im very thankful I still get to do what I love). I no longer want to project a curated life. I get immense joy when someone comes up to me & says that my willingness to open up about depression, anxiety, alcoholism, & addiction has helped them in some way. Ive struggled the past year with trying to find my voice and where I fit in & that has been the most beautiful struggle Ive ever had to go through. Worrying about what time to post on social media so I can maximize my likes or being mad at myself that I dont look the same way I did when I was addicted to pills is a complete waste of why I was put on this earth. Im posting these photos to let yall in on my truth. Im so grateful to be where I am now ( a year after these photos were taken) but man these times were dark. Im a human being with flaws just like you. If ur in the middle of the dark times...I promise you it doesnt have to last forever. Love yall A post shared by Colton Haynes (@coltonlhaynes) on Aug 18, 2019 at 4:04pm PDT
"I get immense joy when someone comes up to me & says that my willingness to open up about depression, anxiety, alcoholism, & addiction has helped them in some way," he continued. Haynes then revealed that the pressure to depict a certain version of himself on social media, incentivized by the likes and engagement he would get and by the perceived perfection of other people, led him down a dark path.
"Ive struggled the past year with trying to find my voice and where I fit in & that has been the most beautiful struggle Ive ever had to go through," he said. "Worrying about what time to post on social media so I can maximize my likes or being mad at myself that I dont look the same way I did when I was addicted to pills is a complete waste of why I was put on this earth."
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He isn't alone. More than a third of men aged 18 to 34 feel pressure to look good online, and one in 20 have been body-shamed by internet trolls for the way they look . And a staggering one in four men don't like the way they look, period .
Haynes ended on a positive note, saying that the hospital photos are a reminder of how far he has come, and of the value of living an unfiltered life: "Im posting these photos to let yall in on my truth. Im so grateful to be where I am now ( a year after these photos were taken) but man these times were dark. Im a human being with flaws just like you. If ur in the middle of the dark times...I promise you it doesnt have to last forever. Love yall."
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