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Kendall Jenner says brain scan showed that she ‘100 per cent has anxiety’
Model has been outspoken about her struggles with anxiety
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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Kendall Jenner has revealed that a scan of her brain reportedly showed that she “100 per cent has anxiety”.
In a sneak peek of Thursday’s episode of The Kardashians, the 26-year-old model spoke to her older sister, Khloe Kardashian, about a brain scan she had recently gotten. During the conversation, Jenner revealed how the scanning process worked and what she was able to learn about her mental health from undergoing the procedure.
“Basically [the doctor] scans your brain and he tells you, like he sees where it’s like firing,” she explained. “Like he said: ‘You 100 per cent have anxiety. I can see it all in your brain.’ It’s really interesting.”
The reality star then went on to encourage her sister to get a brain scan, with Jenner expressed an interest in the results.
“I think you would really like it,” Jenner said. “I’m actually so interested to see how your brain works.”
“I’m actually so interested to see how your brain looks, mostly after everything that’s just happened with Tristan [Thompson],” the model added, referring to the Good American founder’s tumultuous relationship with her ex, who was recently revealed to have cheated on her and fathered a baby with personal trainer Maralee Nichols.
During last week’s episode of The Kardashians, Kardashian also confirmed that, right before news broke about the basketball player’s paternity scandal, she had undergone an embryo transfer, as she and Thompson were in the process of trying for a second baby via surrogate. The former couple, who share a four-year-old daughter, True, welcomed their son in July.
In preview of the upcoming episode, Kardashian and Jenner also discussed how intriguing it would be to see the results of their other siblings’ brain scans.
“I’m interested to see everyone’s brains,” Jenner said. “I’m going to get one family member at a time. Just with all the s*** Kim [Kardashian] deals with on a daily basis. I would be very interested to see her brain. Because I’m sure it’s like, just overload in there.”
Jenner went on to joke about how sister Kourtney Kardashian’s brain would just show “clouds up there” and “little birds” flying around. Kardashian agreed with the comment, before joking that her older sister’s brain would mainly be focused on her husband, Travis Barker.
The model also acknowledged what else could be learned about their family through brain scans, adding: “It’s just interesting to take two sisters and be like: ‘What similarities do you guys have that might be passed down?’”
According to the Mayo Clinic, PET (positron emission tomography) scans have been used to identify mental illnesses, including depression, as the results “can compare brain activity during periods of depression with normal brain activity”.
Additionally, a study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine in 2009 discovered that brain scans can show specific patterns in people with generalised anxiety disorders.
This is not the first time that Jenner has addressed her anxiety. While speaking to Vogue last month, the 818 Tequila founder explained that she likes to “wind down in the evenings” to help manage her anxiety.
“I usually drink tea and relax by reading a book or writing in my journal,” she revealed. “I have struggled with anxiety for years and it can have good and bad days. If I need to wind down, I really make a point to take 15 minutes to meditate to settle my anxiety so I can get a good night’s rest.”
Jenner shared the nighttime ritual that helps her deal with anxiety after previously addressing critics who claim that her “privilege” exempts her from having mental health struggles.
“There is going to be those people that say: ‘Oh, okay, what does she have to worry about? What does she have to be anxious about?’” she said in a Vogue video series in May 2021 . “I’ll never sit here and say that I’m not fortunate. I know I live a very privileged, amazing lifestyle – I’m a very blessed girl.”
The supermodel then pointed to her head, continuing: “I still have one of these. And that thing up there sometimes, doesn’t always, I don’t know, it’s not always happy and it’s not always connecting.”
“No matter what someone has or doesn’t have, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have real life feelings and emotions,” she added.
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