Bella Hadid shares her battle with Lyme disease

At the age of 16, the model discovered she was suffering from Lyme, a disease that her mother, Yolanda Hadid, also has. Now the model shares on Instagram the worst moments of her fight against this chronic illness that has haunted her for 10 years.

Through her official Instagram account, model Bella Hadid shared an emotional message about her health. Bella was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012, a disease that has intensified in the last year and has kept her away from the catwalks for several months. A few days ago, her sister, Gigi Hadid, tweeted that Bella had finally finished her treatment and that she was proud and excited for her comeback when she was ready.

Hadid begins her message by saying that the younger version of her would be so proud of her for not giving up during this long and difficult process. Bella also thanks her mother for keeping her medical records, which serve as a testament to everything the model has been through over the years. In fact, Bella’s message is accompanied by images of her undergoing treatment, as well as several medical records describing the symptoms Hadid has had.

Among Bella’s symptoms at the time were fatigue (aggravated by physical exercise), attention deficit, memory disturbances, slurred speech, depression, sleep disturbance, numbness or tingling, headaches, imbalance, grogginess, nightmares, muscle weakness, intolerance to bright lights, muscle and joint pain, night sweats, palpitations, premenstrual syndrome, chest pain, and multiple food sensitivities.

“Living in this state, getting worse with time and work while trying to make myself, my family and my supporters proud, has taken its toll on me in a way that I can’t really explain. Being this sad and sick with the most blessings/privileges/opportunities/opportunities/love around me was possibly the most confusing thing I’ve ever experienced,” Hadid states in the message.

Bella said that, although the images of her treatment can be a little strong and raise alarms about her health, she is feeling much better, but also reiterated that she would not change this experience for anything in the world. Hadid took the opportunity to send a message of hope to her followers, because after almost 15 years fighting against herself, her outlook on life has changed, and she says she feels much more optimistic and eager to “spread the love”.

“One thing I want to say to everyone is that 1: I’m fine and you have nothing to worry about. And 2: I wouldn’t change anything for the world. If I had to go through all of this again, to get here, to this exact moment where I am right now, with all of you, finally healthy, I would do it all over again. It made me who I am today”.

“The universe works in the most painful and beautiful ways, but I must say that if you are struggling, it will get better. I promise you. Take your space, stay strong, have faith in your path, walk in your truth and the clouds will begin to clear. I have so much gratitude and perspective on life, these 100+ days of Lyme, chronic illness, co-infection treatment, almost 15 years of invisible suffering, it was all worth it if I can, God willing, have a life of spreading love, and being able to truly be myself, for the first time ever.”

Bella ended her message by thanking her doctors, nurses, her agents and modelling agencies for being patient enough for her to recover. She assured that “I will return to modelling when I’m ready, I miss you all so much, I love you all so much”, and considering the great improvement she has made, it is likely that Bella Hadid will be making waves on the catwalk again in 2024 (if not sooner).

Bella Hadid talks about her mental health issues.