Jessa Duggar sparks concern as she reveals secret mental health struggle in heartbreaking video confession
JESSA Duggar has sparked concern as she revealed a secret mental health struggle in a heartbreaking video confession.
The Counting On alum opened up to her fans about her religious view on her struggles with depression.
In a nearly 25-minute video, Jessa, 29, talked to fans about her “journey from doubt and depression to grace.”
Jessa made the video in August 2020, although she re-posted it yesterday as she celebrated Easter.
The star captioned her confession: “When I was young, I ‘prayed the prayer’ and ‘asked Jesus into my heart,’ but I wasn’t truly converted.”
Jessa announced: “In this video, I open up about my spiritual journey. After years of struggling with doubts and depression, I came to truly understand the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
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She continued: “This is the story of God’s grace in my life. I pray you find encouragement as you listen.”
As Jessa re-shared the old content, her fans took the Reddit to re-hash their thoughts on her confession.
One wrote: “This legit breaks my heart. I’ve been watching the early specials and I wanna steer far away from being an armchair psychologist but nevertheless some of the traits I saw in her from a young age are things I recognized within myself as a depressed child.
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They said: “I wish for more for her. “
A second posted: “Generally speaking, it sounds quite scary that she’s denied herself any real help if she was depressed.”
Yet a third begged the star: “You are most likely pushing down your trauma and making it worse in the future. Just see a therapist. It won’t hurt.”
A fourth concerned fan wrote: “You are so traumatized and pretending it’s all good won’t make it better.”
The fan urged: “What you need more than anything is the courage to see a therapist and get to the bottom of this.”
DANCING WITH DRAMA
As Jessa re-shared her personal spiritual journey on her Instagram, she has been breaking free of her family’s strict religious rules in other ways.
Jessa defied her father Jim Bob’s modesty rules by allowing her children to dance at a family lunch.
She had shared adorable videos of her kids Spurgeon, six, Henry, five, and Ivy, two, showing off their best moves.
In the first clip, Henry spun Ivy around before they ran off with Spurgeon and the oldest Seewald child began to spin around with his sister.
Spurgeon and Ivy continued to dance together in the second clip.
The siblings adorably held hands as they spun around in a circle, while Henry got in on the action by grabbing his brother and sister’s hands.
The Instagram post concluded with a photo of Jessa’s husband Ben Seewald, 26, sitting at a table outdoors as their three oldest kids held hands in the background.
Alongside the post, the Counting On alum wrote: “Everyone wants to dance with the princess.”
In addition to their three oldest kids, Jessa and Ben also share eight-month-old daughter Fern.
Shortly after Jessa shared the videos and photos, her fans rushed to the comments section to gush over the sweet moment.
One person wrote: “This is actually the cutest.”
Another added: “You have such sweet children! I love watching them get along so well!”
SLAMMING JIM BOB
Others praised Jessa for allowing her kids to dance, which goes against her father Jim Bob’s strict rules.
Not being allowed to dance is one of the many strict rules that patriarch Jim Bob, 55, and matriarch Michelle, 54, have established as part of their conservative Christian lifestyle.
One fan commented: “Don’t take this the wrong way – but I love that you let your kiddos dance!!”
A following person slammed Jim Bob and Michelle’s strict modesty rules, writing: “To imagine parents viewing this as sinful… it’s such an innocent and natural self expression and so essential to mental wellbeing.
“Well done Jessa for discarding that rule!”
RULE BREAKER
Letting her kids dance is not the only way Jessa has defied her parents’ strict rules.
Earlier this month, Jessa shared a vlog that gave fans a look at her “extra special date night” with Ben.
During the outing, the mother of four defied the modesty rules by wearing a sweater with a pair of tight, black jeans with a rip on the thigh that showed off some skin.
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Counting On fans admitted they were shocked by the reality star’s venture into less conservative clothing and shared their reactions online.
One asked on Reddit: “I haven’t kept up with the Duggars but Jessa is wearing pants now? And ripped jeans at that?!”
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