Kendall Jenner says fame causes 'debilitating anxiety' that brings on 'full-on panic attacks'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Model/reality TV star Kendall Jenner is the cover girl of Harper's Bazaar February 2018 issue. (Sølve Sundsbø)
Reality TV royalty Kendall Jenner may be one of fashion’s most sought-after models, but when she’s not in front of cameras, the 22-year-old said she is plagued with a private health battle that keeps her up at night.
“I have such debilitating anxiety because of everything going on that I literally wake up in the middle of the night with full-on panic attacks,” the younger sister of Kim Kardashian told Harper’s Bazaar for their February 2018 issue. “Where do I even start? Everything is so horrible, it’s hard to name one thing.”
Jenner hinted some of her anxiety may possibly stem from dealing with non-stop criticism from those who may feel her family ties gave her an easy ride to the top in the fashion world.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I just think that the world needs so much love,” said Jenner. “I wish I had the power to send Cupid around the planet, as cheesy as that sounds. You go online and you see everyone saying the worst things to each other, and it’s hard to stay positive. It’s hard not to get eaten alive by all the negativity.”
Jenner also said growing up in public caused her to miss out on certain things.
She, along with her family, have been chronicling their lives on the hit TV show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” since 2007.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“The obvious answer is college, I guess, but I don’t even know if I regret that,” she admitted. “I had a pretty normal childhood, with a twist, and went to school until the 10th grade. For 11th and 12th, I did homeschool, but I still saw a lot of my old friends. I didn’t go to prom though, which was kind of annoying.
"I can’t really complain except for now, maybe, I would like to go to Disneyland or a public beach. To go to a beach in peace would be lovely. To be able to hang out and meet new people and not be bothered would be awesome.”
Still, Jenner said she gets support from veteran supermodels, keeping her determined to stay successful.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I’ve actually talked about it with a couple of women, like Cindy Crawford, who have been doing this for a long time,” explained Jenner. “I feel like social media obviously has a lot to do with how it’s different. A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, it’s so much easier now because you have Instagram. You don’t even need an agency anymore.’
"But that’s just not true. I still had to go to all the castings, I still had to go meet all the photographers, I still had to do all of that to get to where I am now. There wasn’t a step taken out just because I had social media.”
Jenner shared that despite her fame, she still has to put in the non-stop work, just like any other model.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I still have 12-hour days, I still have even 24-hour days sometimes,” she said. “I still have to do all those things. We don’t work any less hard than the ‘90s models did when they were young.”