Kate Beckinsale delivered an unflinching account of life with PTSD, telling followers the condition leaves sufferers in a state that is “actually like hell.”
The “Underworld” actress, 53, posted two videos to Instagram on Wednesday that drew on her own recent losses while making a broader appeal for compassion toward anyone carrying hidden trauma. Beckinsale’s mother, actress Judy Loe, died in July 2025 following a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. Her stepfather, director Roy Battersby, died in January 2024 after what she described at the time as “a brief period of illness.”
Beckinsale, who was five when her father Richard Beckinsale died of a heart attack, has described Loe as “the compass of my life, the love of my life, my dearest friend,” She wrote on Instagram last summer that she was “paralyzed” by grief, calling her mother’s death her “greatest fear” realized.
In her first video this week, Beckinsale addressed people who “have seen or experienced levels of horror, terror, violence,” stating that while they cannot escape their traumas, they should be recognized as “heroes.”
“A lot of those people become incredibly good at masking it,” she said. “And it’s sad because they become so good that they get no grace whatsoever.”
She detailed the invisible toll: sufferers go about everyday lives yet “don’t sleep for more than an hour because when they do, it’s full of nightmares,” She added that “anything — smells, sounds, thoughts, feelings — can trigger them into a place that is actually like hell.”
Beckinsale noted that because battling PTSD is “invisible,” people should be “kinder and gentler” to others.
“It really is true that when you haven’t walked a mile in someone’s shoes — however fancy you think the shoes are — you have absolutely no idea what they might be carrying, masking, dealing with day and night,” she continued.
She concluded the first video by emphasizing that PTSD victims “are the loneliest people” who “continue to try and put one foot in front of the other.”
In her second video, Beckinsale observed that Sunday was National Grief Awareness Day and cautioned against telling struggling people “how strong they are,” warning that such strength may be “misinterpreted as not needing gentleness.”
“There are people who are silently caregiving, watching their loved ones deteriorate in horrifying and frightening ways that they’re not medically qualified to deal with,” she explained. “And they do it on their own. And it can break them.”
She finished by asking followers to “try to become a person who can provide safety” to those struggling, noting they “could be the difference for someone.”
Beckinsale had announced Battersby’s death in early 2024 with a post stating she had “no words yet.” The cumulative losses have marked a period of intense public grieving for the actress, who has used her platform to blend personal pain with advocacy for wider mental health awareness.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for those affected by issues raised in her posts.