Sarah Hyland is inspiring others who suffer with chronic illness with a powerful message about body positivity and insecurity.
On Saturday, the Modern Family actress shared a photo of herself dressed in workout attire to Instagram, where she revealed that she originally “hated” the picture.
“To my fellow invisible illness warriors,” the 28-year-old wrote. “It’s okay to be insecure about your body.
“Just remember to check in with yourself at least once a day and say thank you. Our bodies have endured unfathomable feats that our minds barely have time to comprehend what has actually happened.”
Hyland, who has had to undergo two kidney transplants as a result of kidney dysplasia, a condition in which the kidneys don’t fully develop in the womb, then discussed her own insecurities and her battle towards self-acceptance.
Explaining that the medications, inflammation and excess water gain mean that her skin has a hard time bouncing back, Hyland said that when she saw the picture she “HATED it,” before reminding herself to be positive and decided to “celebrate it”.
The actress concluded the message reminding her followers to “Love yourself and be patient”.
“We are all stronger than we think we are,” she wrote.
Since sharing the post, Hyland has since received an outpouring of praise for her inspiring message and transparency.
“Thank you so, so much for posting this and normalising the insecurities that we go through as people with invisible illnesses daily,” one person wrote.
Another said: “Yes! Real bodies that battle every day are beautiful. Love that you posted this.”
This is not the first time Hyland has opened up about what it is like to live with a chronic illness. In January, the actress revealed to Ellen DeGeneres how her health issues have impacted her happiness and mental health.
“I have an amazing job, an amazing support system, but … after 26, 27 years of just always being sick and being in chronic pain every single day, you don't know when you're going to have the next good day. It's really, really hard,” she recalled.
