The faces and bodies that so many of us put forth on our social media accounts is usually not the reality of the situation. It makes sense – why show off anything less than perfection when it’s within the realm of photoshopped possibility? That’s resulted in a dangerous disconnect, however, between what the world thinks of us versus what we feel about ourselves. Simon Dunn, seen in his glory here, here, here, and here has recently been bravely defying the notion that our Instagram accounts are entirely indicative of who we are. He made a powerful post revealing what he had been going through, and it was striking both in its honesty and the way it upended all that some of us had thought of him.
“The online persona I show you is all photoshoots, parties and magazine covers. This hasn’t always been entirely the truth. Earlier this year, I found myself back in Australia, living in a country town in my mother’s spare room and financially broke.
Having to rebuild my life at the time felt like a monumental task. I honestly didn’t think I could do it. I stopped looking after myself, drinking most weekends away, stopped training, all things which compounded the low point I was in. It honestly felt all the years of hard work had only led me back to where I began. For the first time in my life I’d felt anxiety, which was something new, scary and very overwhelming at times…
The Simon you see online is the Simon I want you to see, may it be my pride or the influence of social media, but it’s not always as it seems. Life is a series of ups and downs, just remember – there’s always light at the end of the tunnel no matter how dark it may seem!” Simon Dunn
It’s a vital reminder that even the most seemingly perfect people can use a check-in now and then. It doesn’t need to be a full-blown intervention or 5000-word hand-written letter – just a simple reaching out to ask how someone is doing can make a difference. The world needs more of that – and much more of Mr. Dunn in all his inspiring form.
