PHOTOGRAPHY
Joseph Marchant
L O C AT I O N
Hoxton, London
MODELS
Rosie Viva
The Importance of Seeking Connection When Battling Mental Illness A U T H O R : R O S I E V I VA
M
eeting Rosie in person, you’d never expect her life story to have been such a rough ride, but I guess that’s always the way with mental illness. On the surface, most of us appear to be totally fine. And that’s what isolates us. In our efforts to remain strong and stable, we close ourselves off from those who genuinely wish to help us, simply because they’re unaware of what’s truly going on in our lives. Bubbly, charismatic and good-humoured, I knew Rosie and I would get along instantly. There’s a certain unity between those of us who have suffered crushing adversity, and it was the same thread that connected me and Rosie right from the get go. Sitting on her sunny balcony in Hoxton, London, we spoke at length about the trials and tribulations that many of us young and aspiring creatives endure. But it was different for Rosie. Battling with general
anxiety disorder, bipolar and the hypomania that comes with it all made forging ahead and creating an organisation centered around helping others in similar situations an even greater challenge. From an early age, Rosie’s journey has been a beautiful blend of tumult, adventure and struggle. Moving to London at eighteen years old to pursue a career in modelling, Rosie told herself that she’d give it a shot for one year. If it didn’t work out, she’d pursue university and the academic route. “That first year was a flop,” she admits. But that didn’t stop her. After having a bash at modelling for another twelve months, Rosie was taken under the wing of Select Models, an agency that ‘truly believed in her and her full potential’. That was in 2017. Things seemed to be looking up. But by 2018, life took a huge turn for the worse.
T H E I M P O R TA N C E O F S E E K I N G C O N N E C T I O N W H E N BAT T L I N G M E N TA L I L L N E S S
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