Camila Cabello Opens Up About Navigating Her Childhood Trauma

Camila Cabello is opening up about how understanding and navigating her past childhood trauma has helped improve her mental health. In a candid interview on June 11 with California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), the "Havana" singer said it took accepting that she experienced "toxic stress" as an adolescent to help better deal with her anxiety.

"I have experienced, especially I think in my late teens and early 20s, feeling like I had like symptoms of, you know, an anxiety disorder and feeling like, 'Oh, where is that coming from?' Also really beating myself up about it and being really hard on myself. Feeling like it was some inadequacy or that I was just coming up short on the like wisdom scale," she recalled of her past inner struggles. 

Cabello continued on to say that learning about trauma experienced at an early age and how it can affect your entire body — including brain development — helped her feel more at ease with her mental health. "...That really helped me be like, 'Oh, enough beating myself up,'" she said. The singer did not mention the toxic situation she experienced growing up, but she has previously said that she underestimated the impact that moving to a new country at a young age can have on a child, as reported by The Guardian in 2018. Cabello moved to America from Cuba at the age of 6, per IMDb.

So, how is Cabello handling the effects of her Adverse Childhood Experiences? Keep scrolling to find out.

Camila Cabello, who has previously spoken about her experiences living with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), gave a few examples of routes she is open to in order to help her cope with her past toxic experiences. "I'm not choosing this, but this means that, you know, whether it's like medication or therapy or yoga or meditation or like whatever I need to get, you know, proper treatment," she told Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris during their frank interview. Camila revealed on social media in 2020 that she was practicing yoga and meditation during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, per Hola!

In addition to better understanding her own trauma and anxiety, the former Fifth Harmony singer said learning about Adverse Childhood Experiences has allowed her to be more sympathetic with people. "When you see people suffering or acting out, you're like, 'I wonder what their Number Story is' ... I wonder what trauma is like stuck in their bodies," she said. A person's number story, according to NumberStory.org, "counts experiences of abuse, neglect and household challenges that happened" to people as children.

Cabello also explained that she feels like understanding one's Number Story is a "path towards healing and more understanding and transparency," which is why she was so excited to speak with Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris. "I feel like having those conversations and destigmatizing them is such a big part of like relieving suffering for people," she said. "Like it was for me."

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.