Camila Mendes shares how mental health retreat changed her life
Camila Mendes spent a week at a mental health retreat where she was able to reassess what was important in her life.
Camila Mendes would rather be happy than successful.
The Masters of the Universe actress - who has previously spoken about her struggle with an eating disorder - hailed a week-long mental health retreat a life changing experience and told how she was glad of the opportunity to have the time and space to reset and reevaluate what was important in her life.
Speaking on Josh Smith's Great Chat Show, she said: "I did this mental health retreat called Hoffman that really changed my life, and it was one of those places where you're gone for a week and you check your phone in and you're just off the grid doing intensive psychological work on yourself.
"I was just like, something's got to change because the way I'm living my life is not making me happy. I was saying yes to too much. I didn't know how to say no to people. I had people-pleasing tendencies and perfectionism patterns, and just holding myself to such a high standard that I just couldn't take a break, I couldn't rest, I didn't know how to stop.
"The amount of times I've said to somebody, ‘Sorry, it's just been really crazy, like life has been really hectic, and I'm' like, "I've been texting that phrase for like two years now, it's not just like a phase of my life, this is just my life, I can't keep saying this.’ There's something wrong if I've been saying that for that long. Something's got to change.
"I came out of it feeling like I knew myself better than I ever had, and I was able to make all the changes in my life that I needed to make to really be living the most authentic version of myself.
"I don't need to be this mega successful person. I want to have enough success to live a happy life. So if at any point my success is getting in the way of my happiness, it's not worth it. I'd rather be happy."
The 31-year-old star credits weight training for helping her develop a more positive relationship with her body and she believed women "need to lift".
She said: "Weight training taught me so much about my body. 10 years ago I was struggling with an eating disorder and wanting to be really thin — and now I'm intentionally gaining weight and putting on muscle…
"Enough with the Pilates! Women need to lift… Fear not, you are not going to get buff. You're just going to have stronger muscles, and you're going to look toned — and you're going to feel stronger within yourself...
"That was such a weird reversal to think about! 10 years ago I was struggling with an eating disorder and wanting to be really thin, and now I'm over here, like intentionally gaining weight and putting on muscle.
"And that was such a full circle moment of, like, wow, look how much I've grown since I started out in my career… I did a lot of therapy around that.
"I wasn't sure if it was going to work, and then it did, and it was crazy to see how effective it was. I feel like I've evolved so far from that time of my life that it's like I feel very comfortable talking about it, because it's just now another part of my story, and it's what led me here."
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