Rachel Kolisi opens up about her battle with depression and suicide attempt

Rachel Kolisi, who is a philanthropist and wife of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, has opened up about her battle with depression, including her suicide attempt as a teenager.

In an interview with Mpoomy Ledwaba on her Wisdom & Wellness podcast, Rachel got candid about her spiritual and mental health journey. She spoke about how her parents’ divorce affected her as a teen and into her adult life.

“I felt led to share my story about depression and that journey. My parents went through a really bad divorce and this is just my personal story. I know everyone’s struggles are different.

“With my parents’ (divorce) it was very challenging. I lost my way so much and found myself sometimes in not healthy friendship groups. They’d be like if you are having a tough day let’s have a drink or a smoke and that’s the environment I found myself in and it spiralled. Depression does that, it does that to a person where you are like ‘I’m not depressed, I’m fine’.“

Rachel shared that she tried to commit suicide when she was a teen and spent two to three years cutting herself as a cry for help.

“I tried to commit suicide when I was 15,” she said.

Listen to the full podcast below:

Rachel has often opened up about matters concerning self-confidence and mental health on her social media platforms.

Recently, she took to her Instagram to hit back at being told to sport a more “professional” look while she was working on a campaign.

Rachel said she took herself off the campaign because the organisers allegedly asked her to have a more “professional” look and insisted she wear make-up. She said she believes women are beautiful, regardless of whether they wear make-up.

“I think girls who get up and spend time putting make-up on are beautiful! I think girls who wake up and don’t put make-up on are beautiful too!” wrote Rachel.

Rachel also had a reminder for all the women who feel the need to change themselves to fit in: just be yourself!

“In a world where a lot of people are trying to be something they’re not, be you. We need more of that,” she said.