Tia Mowry’s Instagram page is typically filled with vibrant photos and videos of her fashions, beauty, her family, and her recipes, but her latest post served as a “real moment” in her life that many people experience. The Sister, Sister star shared a before and after photo of her experience with anxiety. The first photo showed her visibly trying to put on a brave face while the second photo showed her in a cheerful mood. In the extensive caption, she wrote, “I want to take a moment to be real with you guys. Y’all are used to seeing me in a photo like the second (swipe), but that’s not always the case.”

“In this first photo, I was really going through a moment of tough anxiety and weird doubts and had just had a cry. And even though it was a really hard moment, I took this photo because I wanted to visually see what I was going through and witness my rawness -- so I could grow through it.”

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She added, “A lot of time we’re taught to hide these feelings, but I think when you’re vulnerable with yourself (and others) you find a certain kind of strength that you didn’t know you had.

I hope this can encourage you to really sit with those feelings in life’s hard moments and notice how you come out on the other side. Because I bet it’s stronger and even more beautiful than before.”

Many of the veteran actress’ fans thanked her for her vulnerability, but this isn’t the first time she’s opened up about her mental health. During her sit-down with Kelly Clarkson on her talk show in August 2020, Tia shared the struggles she faced during the pandemic lockdown.

“You know, for a minute, when quarantine first started, I was hiding my emotions from my kids because I didn’t want them to see mom kind of all over the place,” Tia said.

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“I was just focusing on everybody else and not myself,” she said. “You know what I mean? And moms tend to do that a lot.”

The 43-year-old began to turn to meditation and saw it as the release she needed.

“We are so worried about everybody else’s stuff — like their mental health, how they’re doing, checking in with them, making sure their needs are being met — and we are the last ones that we look at,” she said, adding, “That is so destructive, not just for you, but your family as well.”

Featured image by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images