A blogger has revealed how the pressure of followers wanting to look like her drove her to the brink of depression and needing therapy.
Lauren Bejaoui, 22, from Dublin has amassed more than 29,000 Instagram followers thanks to the brooding selfies and monochromatic aesthetic that sets her apart from other fashion and beauty bloggers.
But the influencer who is known as a ‘sex-positive blogger’, found herself bombarded with messages from people asking how they could look like her and wanting to know her weight and what she ate, including pro-anorexia accounts.
‘I got quite sick. I wouldn’t say I was suffering from depression – but I wasn’t far off it. It was a weird time in my life,’ she told the Sunday Independent.
Lauren told Femail: ‘Being 17-18 you can imagine the pressure and guilt I felt. Over a short period it became intense and too much for me. I knew I looked after my body and this was my frame naturally.
‘I wasn’t fighting myself or risking my health and mental wellbeing to achieve it. When it got too much I started going to see my family physician and the visits were frequent over a couple weeks. I would go and I would just cry and it stemmed from pressure and guilt.’
Her GP encouraged her to speak about her feelings, rather than prescribing medication and she later sought therapy at 21 when the same emotions began to creep back.
Lauren Bejaoui, 22, from Dublin has revealed how the pressure of people wanting to look like her drove her to the brink of depression
The influencer has amassed more than 29,000 Instagram followers, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing
The American Apparel model was rejected from almost every modelling agency in Dublin
There’s no way I could tell anyone how to look exactly like me. We’re all built different.’
Lauren told Femail that she believes these kind of pressures are quite common among influencers, but it’s not widely acknowledged.
‘I think its a publicly unspoken thing and something that should be personally addressed by anyone feeling that way for their own wellbeing,’ she explained.
‘With amazing opportunity comes great responsibility and pressure but at the same time anyone going into that sort of career should know that and find ways of managing and coping with pressure.
Lauren is known as a ‘sex positive’ Instagram star thanks to her love of sultry selfies and plunging necklines
‘My personal approach is to block any unnecessary negativity! If someone leaves a hateful comment or sends a nasty message I will simply rise above by blocking them and removing the comment. Otherwise I’m fuelling their fire and making any pressure much greater.’
The social media star who also works full time at the high end Brown Thomas department store in Dublin said that ‘skin’ is the biggest part of her Instagram account
Indeed, many of her Instagram shots cut off her head so that she can show off her cleavage in plunging necklines instead.
She’s also known for her love of designer items from Celine, YSL and Chanel and says that apart from the occasional freebie, she buys everything herself.
As well as curating her Instagram feed, Lauren works full time at a high end department store in Dublin
At the tender age of 14, she decided to pursue a modelling career but was rejected by agencies as she wasn’t tall enough at 5ft 5in.
She was rejected by most agencies in Dublin and was even told by one that nobody would ever hire her because of her height.
So she took matters into her own hands by applying directly to American Apparel through the brand’s website.
She has since done several shoots with the brand with her image appearing on billboards across the globe.
The blogger said that although she wasn’t depressed she felt very close to it as she tried to live up to followers’ expectations
The influencer is known for her love of sultry selfies, but was initially rejected by modelling agencies because of her height