Jameela Jamil has revealed how recent taunts over her mental and physical health have ‘triggered her to the point of near-death’.
The Good Place actor has spent the past few weeks battling against social media claims that her chronic health complaints have been manufactured, with some suggesting that she suffers from Munchausen’s syndrome - a mental disorder in which people feel compelled to lie about being ill.
Piers Morgan weighed into the furore last week, accusing her of ‘virtue-signalling victimhood-craving’, and mocking her for her ‘latest terrible affliction, Munchausen syndrome’.
Today, Jameelashared a statement with her 1m followers on Twitter, saying that the online speculation over her health had amounted to ‘gaslighting.’
‘I’m tired of the bullying,’ she wrote, ‘the taunting over my mental and physical health. I’m sorry to the people who have Munchausen that your health was used as a punchline and slur by people like Piers Morgan and other such powerful people online.’
According to the NHS, Munchausen’s is a complex and serious illness that tends to be caused by personality disorders or emotional/childhood trauma. The main symptom revolves around someone assuming a ‘sick role’ so that people care for them and that they can be at the centre of attention.
‘Last week triggered me to the point of near death. I have a fragile past with suicide. If you live in pain and have to survive a lot just to still be here, it’s agonising to have people tell you that you made it up,' Jameela wrote.
In the past, Jameela has opened up about having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (a rare hyper-mobiliity condition), eating disorders, labyrinthitis (an inner ear disorder which causes dizziness, nausea and hearing loss), two cancer scares, and two serious car accidents.
The recent deluge of abuse began after she came out as queer following a social media backlash over her new role as a judge on a TV voguing show.
Jameela concluded: ‘What happened to me was incredibly cruel and scary and it triggered a lot of people who live in the same situation as me.
‘Our lives are hard enough without gaslighting and abuse and I’m glad that at least we know we have each other because all this sh*t is out in the open.’
Let’s hope that this is the end of the sorry saga - and that Twitter takes a break from ‘diagnosing’ mental health conditions in other people.
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