Cathy Hummels has been actively involved in issues such as mental health for years. An area that, according to Hummels, has to find a place in childhood – and especially in schools. In the GALA interview, she revealed what values she wants to pass on to her own three-year-old son Ludwig and what she was able to learn from her child.
Bullying, hate comments and insults: Cathy Hummels, 33, had to experience all of this first hand. Experiences that made her fall into depression as a teenager – but nobody at her school can really help her. Today the wife of Mats Hummels, 32, is actively committed to the mental health of children and adolescents. “My commitment and myself to actively support it are points that help me to stay mentally healthy myself,” explains Cathy Hummels in an interview with GALA.
Acting as a role model encourages the now 33-year-old in many ways. Above all, she sets an important example for her three-year-old son Ludwig.
Cathy Hummels: “Ludwig always has priority”
You have been campaigning for mental health for years and openly address taboo subjects such as depression. Do you have everyday rituals, tricks and habits to get through the day mentally strengthened?
Yes, in any case. It is important to me that I deal honestly with these issues. I had depression myself and am committed to the German Depression Aid – in fact, I have even developed my own program for which people can donate. My commitment and my active commitment are points that help me to stay mentally healthy.
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I also love to work. I need this creativity that I haven’t been able to exercise for a long time due to my illness. When I notice that I am not feeling well, I like to withdraw, take a deep breath in and out. Of course I spend a lot of time with my son and my dog - that and my sport are like medicine to me. I have created my very own cosmos.
How important is a healthy and balanced diet to you, not only in terms of physical fitness, but also mental health?
Cooking and eating a balanced diet is my hobby. I believe that if you give your body enough minerals and vitamins to function, you will not only be fine physically. Everyone has to find the right one for themselves. I myself believe in a sugar-free diet and live vegan.
Was this the basic idea you intended when you developed the mental health drink “hye”?
Yes, because the drink gives you the feeling of being more alert and improves your performance. I can concentrate better – I just need that in my job when I moderate. Then both my body and my head have to perform.
With “hye”, Cathy Hummels launched a mental wellbeing drink
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You are not only an entrepreneur, presenter and author, but above all a mom. Hand on heart: How much time do you really have to concentrate on yourself?
I admit that it can be difficult at times. But I take the time to myself by doing sports. Everyone who knows me knows that then I don’t want to be disturbed either. (laughs) I need exercise to be balanced.
I am in a phase in which I want to be creative and realize my projects. Mainly because I couldn’t do that for a while because of my depression. But of course Ludwig always has priority. All in all, I love what I do: my job, Instagram, and my time with family and Moon.
Her son Ludwig will soon be four years old. What values would you like to give him now?
The most important thing for a child – but also for yourself – is to know who you are. I didn’t know that in my youth, I was bullied for a long time myself. However, it is precisely in this time that you develop your personality. Then when you are bullied, when people tell you that you are ugly or that you are stupid, that does something to you. I couldn’t deal with this negativity and I didn’t know who I am – I ended up falling into depression. For this reason, my most important message to Ludwig is that he knows who he is and what he can do. And if he’s not good at something, that’s okay too, because he has enough self-esteem to see it. Ludwig already has this feeling and it makes me very happy.
Children see the world with completely different eyes, while adults are often cerebral: What has Ludwig been able to teach you in this regard in recent years?
From my son I was able to learn that it is important to believe in yourself, to have dreams, to simply live and sometimes to let go. Through Ludwig I learned how nice it is to believe in things – because only then can they come true. In recent years I have realized all the more how precious time is with people and that health is the most important thing in life.
Mental health plays such a big role in your private and professional life. Can you already reveal something about the “Cathy Hummels Program”?
I can reveal so much: The program will be launched very soon and I have set myself a very big task with it. I want mental health to be equated with physical. These topics have to take place in school – that’s why there should be coaching and seminars for teachers. Teachers can then understand their students and recognize when someone is mentally ill. I myself want to go to schools and speak to young people. Because if someone had told me when I was 15 that I had depression or had I known that myself, then I would have developed a completely different understanding.
Further Information on the Cathy Hummels program can be found here.
Sources used: own interview