Billie Eilish is an 18 year old former unschooler who just won five Grammys, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year. She broke records in the process. Crazy successful by most people’s standards, she also has a close-knit, loving family (she co-writes with her brother, and calls him her best friend), and still lives in the same two bedroom home she grew up in. I think she’s amazing. Of course, being such a huge public personality also means she has her vocal detractors. Yesterday, I read one such detractor bemoaning how “dark” her lyrics were, and how she shouldn’t be someone to look up to, since she’s spoken about and written about depression and mental health. The best part? When she said, “ThOsE wItH mEnTaL hEaLtH iSsUeS aReNt SuCesSfUlL.” (Weird emphasis is hers.)

Now, I don’t want to spend any more time talking about an ignorant, and obviously categorically untrue, statement. But I do want to say that those with mental illnesses are absolutely successful, and that success doesn’t have to look like five Grammys. People working a 9 to 5 job are successful. People going to school are successful. People who are raising babies are successful. And sometimes? Sometimes just getting out of bed and breathing in and out is a lot of work in and of itself. And that’s successful too.

But because the world seems to like the “big” success stories, I wanted to share a – partial – list of some celebrities that have been vocal about working and living with mental illnesses. I share this list for 1) the people who have mental illnesses and may doubt themselves because of it, 2) the people who are afraid to speak up because of the stigma that still exists, and 3) the people who just need a little bit of encouragement. Anything is possible, and having a mental illness does not have to stop you from living out your dreams, no matter what those dreams might be. In fact, it may even help! I still maintain that the same part of my brain that gives me bipolar also gives me my creativity.

A couple caveats on the list: Many people fall into more than one category (as do I), but I only listed them in one just to make an already lengthy list shorter. Also, I only included the celebrities that have spoken themselves about their illness, not celebrities that have been speculated about / diagnosed by strangers. And finally, I only included a few of the possibilities. For example, there are no categories for PTSD, eating disorders, or addiction, all of which many celebrities have been open about as well. Mental illness, of any kind, is nothing to be ashamed of.

Without further ado:

DEPRESSION

Prince Harry

James Franco

Rick Springfied

Jim Carrey

Ellen Degeneres

JK Rowling

Hayden Panettiere (postpartum)

Jared Padalecki

Brad Pitt

Jon Hamm

Angelina Jolie

Gwyneth Paltrow (postpartum)

Brittany Snow

Lady Gaga

Miley Cyrus

Beyonce

Lizzo

Selena Gomez

Janet Jackson

Mayim Bialik

Ben Affleck

Chrissy Teigen (postpartum)

Ryan Philippe

Wayne Brady

Brooke Shields (postpartum)

BIPOLAR

Mariah Carey

Carrie Fisher

Mel Gibson

Demi Lovato

Russel Brand

Brian Wilson

Kurt Cobain

Jimi Hendrix

Ernest Hemingway

Ted Turner

Katherine Zeta Jones

Vivien Leigh

Sinead O’Connor

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jane Pauley

Patty Duke

Pete Wentz

David Harbour

OCD

Leonardo Dicaprio

David Beckham

Megan Fox

Lena Dunham

Camila Cabello

Howie Mandel

ANXIETY

Lili Reinhart

Olivia Munn

Kristin Bell

Ariana Grande

Busy Phillips

Amanda Seyfried

Emma Stone

Kendall Jenner

Gina Rodriguez

Elizabeth Vargas

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

xo,