Bella Hadid has shared a raw update on life with chronic Lyme disease, saying a recent flare-up left her struggling to breathe and so weak that even simple tasks felt overwhelming.
The 29-year-old model, who was first diagnosed at 16 in 2012, described the episode on Thursday, June 25, in a series of Instagram Stories that showed how severe her symptoms had become. Hadid has long spoken openly about the physical and emotional toll of the condition, which she says she has lived with for years alongside periods of treatment and recovery.
‘diagnosing herself with 12 other things’
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread by the bite of an infected blacklegged tick, also known as a deer tick. According to the CDC, early diagnosis and proper antibiotic treatment can help prevent more serious disease, and symptoms can include fever, headache, fatigue, joint pain and, in some cases, nerve or heart complications.
‘ Lyme Disease is an infection you can get from the bite of a deer tick.’
Hadid’s family has also been affected by the illness. Her mother, Yolanda Hadid, and younger brother, Anwar, have previously said they were diagnosed with Lyme disease as well.
In her latest update, Hadid said explaining the reality of chronic illness can be difficult because the symptoms are often invisible to others. Before showing the effects of her flare-up, she described the emotional strain of living with pain, fatigue and uncertainty, and the way chronic illness can be isolating even when a person is surrounded by support.
‘intimidating’
‘difficult’
‘pain exhaustion, fatigue, anxiety, brain fog, infections, and trauma,’
‘severe isolation and depression’
This is far from the first time Hadid has discussed the mental burden tied to her health. On World Mental Health Day last year, she also reflected on her struggles with anxiety.
“I sometimes wonder how life has blessed me and how my body and mind are filled with the weight of sadness, depression, and debilitating anxiety on a regular basis,” she penned.
In the same update, the model described the frustration of getting a few good days before another flare-up returned and erased any sense of stability. She said the cycle can make it hard to feel certain about anything, especially when her body is already exhausted.
‘a few goods days,’
‘nothing feels certain again’
“You wake up with anxiety already living in your body,” Hadid wrote. “Physical pain before your feet even touch the floor….And somehow, still have to find the strength to move through another day in a body and mind that are completely exhausted,” she penned.
“Sometimes it feels like unless you’ve lived something like this, or loved someone who has, it’s impossible to fully understand.”
Hadid also offered support to followers dealing with similar struggles, saying hardship can reveal strength people did not realize they had. She added that she is still trying to hold on to gratitude and perspective, even on the hardest days.
‘every hardship teaches us a lesson, or a strength we never knew we had’
‘gratitude for life,’
‘but without living in a body that has more rough days than good,” she continued. “It’s hard to find joy or purpose or reason to even go outside…but we will keep trying! always!’
Shortly afterwards, Hadid shared another update about the flare-up, explaining that even walking to the kitchen had become difficult. She posted a tearful photo of herself in bed and said that despite trying multiple treatment approaches from different doctors, she was still waiting for relief.
‘out of breathe walking to the kitchen’
‘taken protocol from every doctor she’s seen,’
Even so, she ended on a lighter note, joking with followers after managing to shower without fainting.
‘send her a cookie’
Hadid has spoken about her health struggles many times over the years, including periods when she said fatigue, pain and anxiety made normal work and daily routines harder to manage. Her mother, Yolanda Hadid, has also repeatedly described the family’s experience as a long and painful battle, saying Bella has continued to fight through treatment while dealing with chronic symptoms.