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Courtney Stodden Reveals She Hid Her Depression Behind A 'Mask' For Years And Urges Fans To Seek Help
![stodden-depression-pp](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/LGHmRmQu2/480x251/2019/05/stodden-depression-pp.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/LGHmRmQu2/640x335/2019/05/stodden-depression-pp.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/LGHmRmQu2/768x402/2019/05/stodden-depression-pp.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/LGHmRmQu2/1024x536/2019/05/stodden-depression-pp.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/LGHmRmQu2/1280x670/2019/05/stodden-depression-pp.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/LGHmRmQu2/1440x753/2019/05/stodden-depression-pp.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/LGHmRmQu2/1600x837/2019/05/stodden-depression-pp.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/LGHmRmQu2/2160x1130/2019/05/stodden-depression-pp.jpg 2160w)
May 21 2019, Updated 6:14 p.m. ET
Courtney Stodden is opening up about her lengthy battle with depression in hopes that she can encourage her fans to reach out if they're also struggling. Scroll through for details!
![stodden-1](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/WJMY9d99u/480x307/2019/05/stodden-1.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/WJMY9d99u/640x409/2019/05/stodden-1.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/WJMY9d99u/768x490/2019/05/stodden-1.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/WJMY9d99u/1024x653/2019/05/stodden-1.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/WJMY9d99u/1280x817/2019/05/stodden-1.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/WJMY9d99u/1440x919/2019/05/stodden-1.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/WJMY9d99u/1600x1021/2019/05/stodden-1.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/WJMY9d99u/2160x1378/2019/05/stodden-1.jpg 2160w)
Courtney, 24, revealed that she's in a "better position" now than she has been in a "long time," but she was an expert at faking it when she was down in the dumps.
![Stodden 2](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/c3DSlAu3-/480x306/2019/05/stodden-2.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/c3DSlAu3-/640x407/2019/05/stodden-2.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/c3DSlAu3-/768x489/2019/05/stodden-2.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/c3DSlAu3-/1024x651/2019/05/stodden-2.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/c3DSlAu3-/1280x814/2019/05/stodden-2.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/c3DSlAu3-/1440x916/2019/05/stodden-2.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/c3DSlAu3-/1600x1017/2019/05/stodden-2.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/c3DSlAu3-/2160x1373/2019/05/stodden-2.jpg 2160w)
"I'm a great actress, and I can fool your pants off and tell you I'm happy when inside I'm crying," she said on her YouTube channel.
![Stodden 3](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/kikd4cn8_/480x307/2019/05/stodden-3.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/kikd4cn8_/640x409/2019/05/stodden-3.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/kikd4cn8_/768x490/2019/05/stodden-3.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/kikd4cn8_/1024x653/2019/05/stodden-3.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/kikd4cn8_/1280x817/2019/05/stodden-3.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/kikd4cn8_/1440x919/2019/05/stodden-3.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/kikd4cn8_/1600x1021/2019/05/stodden-3.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/kikd4cn8_/2160x1378/2019/05/stodden-3.jpg 2160w)
She continued, "A lot of people do that. Depression doesn't mean someone walks around with a dark cloud over their head and it's obvious."
![Stodden 8](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/W8c_p1rbq/480x307/2019/05/stodden-8.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/W8c_p1rbq/640x409/2019/05/stodden-8.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/W8c_p1rbq/768x490/2019/05/stodden-8.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/W8c_p1rbq/1024x653/2019/05/stodden-8.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/W8c_p1rbq/1280x817/2019/05/stodden-8.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/W8c_p1rbq/1440x919/2019/05/stodden-8.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/W8c_p1rbq/1600x1021/2019/05/stodden-8.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/W8c_p1rbq/2160x1378/2019/05/stodden-8.jpg 2160w)
The infamous teen bride knows what a difference it makes if you simply speak up or ask someone how they're doing. Her condition worsened after her she filed for divorce from husband Doug Hutchison, 58, in 2018.
![stodden-5](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/pnSCVa4O6/480x307/2019/05/stodden-5.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/pnSCVa4O6/640x409/2019/05/stodden-5.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/pnSCVa4O6/768x490/2019/05/stodden-5.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/pnSCVa4O6/1024x653/2019/05/stodden-5.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/pnSCVa4O6/1280x817/2019/05/stodden-5.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/pnSCVa4O6/1440x919/2019/05/stodden-5.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/pnSCVa4O6/1600x1021/2019/05/stodden-5.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/pnSCVa4O6/2160x1378/2019/05/stodden-5.jpg 2160w)
"It means that you gotta reach out. If you love someone, if you care about your friends and family, reach out to them and say, 'Hey, are you okay?'" she urged.
![Stodden 6](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/irTGCpBlt/480x307/2019/05/stodden-6.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/irTGCpBlt/640x409/2019/05/stodden-6.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/irTGCpBlt/768x490/2019/05/stodden-6.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/irTGCpBlt/1024x653/2019/05/stodden-6.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/irTGCpBlt/1280x817/2019/05/stodden-6.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/irTGCpBlt/1440x919/2019/05/stodden-6.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/irTGCpBlt/1600x1021/2019/05/stodden-6.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/irTGCpBlt/2160x1378/2019/05/stodden-6.jpg 2160w)
The singer wants to reduce the stigma around depression. "Don't be afraid of depression. Don't be afraid of yourself. Don't be afraid of someone who had depression, don't think they're weird," she implored.
![stodden-7](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/7ivqnyhGv/480x307/2019/05/stodden-7.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/7ivqnyhGv/640x409/2019/05/stodden-7.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/7ivqnyhGv/768x490/2019/05/stodden-7.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/7ivqnyhGv/1024x653/2019/05/stodden-7.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/7ivqnyhGv/1280x817/2019/05/stodden-7.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/7ivqnyhGv/1440x919/2019/05/stodden-7.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/7ivqnyhGv/1600x1021/2019/05/stodden-7.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/7ivqnyhGv/2160x1378/2019/05/stodden-7.jpg 2160w)
What do you think of Courtney's depression confession? Sound off in the comments below!