Cara Delevingne Says She's 'Learning to Love' Herself Amidst Her Struggles with Perfectionism

The supermodel opened about her anxiety while speaking to an intimate crowd at NewYork-Presbyterian’s youth mental health organization event Monday night

Cara Delevingne got real about her struggles with perfectionism while speaking at NewYork-Presbyterian’s 10-year commemoration of its Center for Youth Mental Health.

During her conversation with British Vogue editor Chioma Nnadi, held at Verōnika in New York City, the supermodel shared her story about growing up with anxiety and dealing with it in her later years.

This journey of healing has allowed the star to come to terms with the pressure, placed upon herself, to be perfect.

“Things that have really helped me are learning to love myself through other people and learning to really be myself with other people, because I think my whole thing was always trying to be perfect, even though I definitely wasn't perfect. In my head, I just wanted to be better than what I was,” the 30-year-old supermodel shared to the crowd, which included Demi Lovato, Camila Cabello and Sienna Miller.

Delevingne noted that the understanding made her realize the “huge discrepancy” she felt within herself, leaving her stuck in the middle of her true self, the person she was “trying to be" and the perception she had of her identity. “Now I feel like I've closed those gaps,” she added.

She's also gradually learning the meaning of self-assurance by learning to trust her gut.

“I made a commitment to trust my instincts. There's still so many days I have a gut feeling about someone or something in business or whatever it is. But I'll second think that thought," she said, adding, “I'm really learning to understand that I don't need to second guess the thing that I really feel innately the right thing to do for me."

Related: Cara Delevingne Makes Her 2023 SAG Awards Debut in Statement-Making Jumpsuit: See Her Daring Look!

The Paper Towns star then shared the message she’d tell her younger self, now that she’s acquired new lessons in this fresh chapter of life. Her honest warning: “I would say, ‘You think this is bad? It’s gonna get worse, but then it’s gonna get better.'"

She continued: “Just 'cause at that point, the hormones and everything, it [feels] so dire and then you become an adult and you’re like, that was so not bad. It gets worse and it gets better. What you’re experiencing right now is very real.”

She’d also encourage her younger self to “stop isolating" herself and to rely on friends and allow herself to cry in front of people (which she considered her “worst fear” once upon a time).

Most importantly, she’d give herself a hug.

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Related: Cara Delevingne Talks About Substance Abuse and Entering 12-Step Program: 'I Was Not Okay'

Delevingne recently spoke to Nnadi for her raw and candid British Vogue cover story released in March.

In the interview, she revealed that she entered a 12-step program after paparazzi photos last year gave her an urgent wake-up call, explaining that her behavior was tied to the pandemic's effect and her milestone 30th birthday last August.

Related: Cara Delevingne Honors Karl Lagerfeld at Met Gala by Recreating His Gray Hair and Signature Style

That source of treatment is what Delevingne today says has been a catalyst for recovery. “I found an incredible source of community and inspiration from groups of women who lift each other up every day,“ she said at Monday’s event.

"I hadn't slept. I was not okay," she told the magazine. "It's heartbreaking because I thought I was having fun, but at some point it was like, 'Okay, I don't look well.' You know, sometimes you need a reality check, so in a way those pictures were something to be grateful for."

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