Presley Gerber, the 26-year-old model son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, is opening up about his mental health journey in a candid video posted on Instagram on Monday, December 1st. Having been vocal about his struggles in recent years, Presley begins the clip, seated in a sauna, with the words "I feel like honesty is the best policy."
He shares that he is currently on several depressant medications, including Buprenorphine, Xanax, and Valium, to manage his "panic attacks" amid his mental health struggles. "The benzos have been fluctuating up and down depending on what's been going on in my life," he explains. "Unfortunately, I've had a lot of loss in many different forms recently. That's not an excuse, but it's the reason why I'm where I am now."
The 26-year-old model discloses that he takes Xanax "when the panic attacks are really, really bad" and Valium "a little bit in the morning," adding with a hint of humor, "I don't know if it's a little bit or a lot; who knows anymore." He shares his concerns about the varying opinions he's received from doctors regarding his treatment.
"The doctors say a lot of different things, so it's kind of scary. But hopefully between my research and theirs, and with God's help, we can figure this out," he says. "The things that scare me are the things you need to take... if you don't take them, something not good happens. And there's a spectrum there on how intense the withdrawal from certain medications is."
Despite seeing several doctors, Presley feels like he doesn't have "as much direction as I would like to have" on his treatment. "I'd like doctors to be like, 'Take this three times a day,'" he says. "But every psychiatrist I've had—I've had 15—are like, 'Here's 20 medications and take this if you feel like this...' And I'm thinking, 'No, don't give me that much leeway.' I need some direction."
He shares that he has found other ways to improve his mental health, such as working out and has stopped drinking alcohol. He hopes to find a community of people who are "good influences on me." "As I've grown up in Hollywood, there are a lot of people around me that I love to death. But right now, I try not to be around them," he adds.
Presley hopes that his latest video will reach people in many ways. "So you feel like you're not alone because that's how I feel most of the time. And I have a feeling that if I say all of this, a lot of people will at least know that there's someone else going through it," he says. "And the second thing is, hopefully I find some people out here who are willing to help or know someone who can help."
