Tabyana Ali Admits She Has ‘Struggled With Depression Most of My Life’
Tabyana Ali is only 20 years old and has admitted to having “struggled with depression” for a long time. Ali plays Trina Robinson on General Hospital. She is the daughter of Dr. Portia Robinson (Brook Kerr) and Lieutenant Marcus Taggert (Réal Andrews).
There has been a lot of drama in the life of Trina. The soap character has been kidnapped, her father faked his death, she’s been drugged, and was framed and went on trial for distributing revenge porn.
Real life can be challenging as well, and it has sometimes taken its toll on the young actor.
Tabyana Ali’s experience with depression
Maurice Benard told his State of Mind audience that Ali’s story will help many young girls as they began an interview. “I feel like I’ve struggled with depression most of my life,” she began with the podcast host. The GH actor said that she always felt an “inner turmoil” and couldn’t figure out why.
She knew that she was very blessed and had a lot to be grateful for. At the same time, she believes that her parents’ divorce may have triggered her depressed feelings because it was painful for her to watch. Ali said that on the outside she was fine, but it was very different on the inside, and she admits that this is “hard to explain” but it was a feeling of “nothing”.
“My mood swings would just like fluctuate all the time and one minute I was perfectly fine and the next minute I couldn’t get a grasp on anything,” she told Benard, who agreed and encouraged her, as he also experiences mental health issues.
Ali also shared that she experiences anxiety and panic attacks.
What helped Tabyana Ali with her depression?
The young actor credits journaling, including poetry, with helping her heal. “I looked back at a lot of my writings,” she explained. “And even though I’m like, I feel all this pain, there’s still like this bit of motivation that I had.”
Her mom was also huge support for her, and would tell her that she “can’t lay in bed all day.” She would encourage her to get up, go outside, and just do something. Ali refers to her mom as a “mother of love.”
Tabyana Ali credits her role as Trina for helping her depression
Ali said that she is just getting over her depression this year. She credits her role as Trina on General Hospital for helping her come out of it. “I feel like it’s the grace of God that I got this job,” she told Benard. She began to feel better this past July.
“All this pain and the fact that I couldn’t let go of the past, stuff that happened with my parents, stuff that happened with my friends, stuff that happened even just by myself, because I had to deal with things on my own as well … all of that is starting to just disappear.”
She said that she cannot even feel it anymore and she is almost a completely different person. “I feel like I’ve changed like 17 times this year,” she exclaimed.
“I am growing into the person that I saw myself becoming when I was depressed,” she said and added that she always knew this person inside was waiting to come out. Her advice to others is to let go of the past.
How to get help: In the U.S. and Canada, text the Crisis Text Line at 741741 to reach a crisis counselor for support.
