New York City-based architect and painter Tiago Azevedo might be one of the rising stars of contemporary art movement Pop-Surrealism, however his personal journey with mental health has been nothing short of exceptional too. When his social media followers noticed that he had vanished from his daily painting live streams back in late 2020, Azevedo opened up about struggling with a severe form of treatment-resistant depression. 

Azevedo has designed many outstanding buildings, including schools, restaurants and five-star hotels in several European countries. Almost a decade in, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to his career as a visual artist, moving to New York City to focus on his work as a painter.

It was during that period that his mental health started to falter, although his battle with mental health began when he was a teenager - as Azevedo explains on a recent YouTube video, where he opens up about depression, anxiety and anorexia. Wanting to stay at home in bed all day, rather than going out to socialize, and the lack of interest in all activities are some of the symptoms Azevedo shared with his fans on social media. "It has been a very rough path," he said in a video. "Most of the day I just lay in bed, even though I live in New York, a beautiful city, where I could be going out and visiting things," he continued. The Mayo Clinic lists feelings of sadness, emptiness or hopelessness are common symptoms of depression. Others include loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities, and sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much. 

(Photo: Tiago Azevedo)

Azevedo's usual radiant personality, which certainly contributes to his success on social media, clashes with how he has been presenting himself in some of these videos where he addresses mental health, which has some of his fans concerned. "Some people think that I live a fabulous life and that, because I live in New York City, I must be out all the time enjoying what the city has to offer. But what people don't necessarily know is that, because of my mental health battle, the truth is that I rarely leave the apartment - other than to go out to get art supplies. Sometimes, when I am not painting or working on something else, I am just laying in bed all day," the 36-year old painter explained. "Don't always trust what you see on social media. It shows only the so-called best part of your life, and - most of the time - real life is not like that at all. Even though I have all the tools to live a very exciting life, without treatment my condition would completely prevent me from doing that. And this is why I am an advocate for access to mental health care and I try to raise as much awareness as I can", he continued.  

The painter also opened up about doing therapy and being on medication. Supermodel Bella Hadid and singer Michelle Williams are other celebrities who recently shared their own journeys with depression. Mental health problems are often overlooked and not adequately addressed in celebrity culture, sometimes in spite of the celebrities asking for their boundaries to be respected by controversial and toxic media outlets.