Colton Haynes Shared a Throwback Hospital Photo While Opening Up About Depression and Addiction

"I dont want worrying about if I look hot or not on Instagram to be my legacy," the actor wrote. "I dont want to skirt around the truth to please other people or to gain economic success. I have far more important things to say than what magazine I just shot for or what tv show Im a part of (Although Im very thankful I still get to do what I love). I no longer want to project a curated life."

View this post on Instagram Throwback. I dont want worrying about if I look hot or not on Instagram to be my legacy. I dont want to skirt around the truth to please other people or to gain economic success. I have far more important things to say than what magazine I just shot for or what tv show Im a part of (Although Im very thankful I still get to do what I love). I no longer want to project a curated life. I get immense joy when someone comes up to me & says that my willingness to open up about depression, anxiety, alcoholism, & addiction has helped them in some way. Ive struggled the past year with trying to find my voice and where I fit in & that has been the most beautiful struggle Ive ever had to go through. Worrying about what time to post on social media so I can maximize my likes or being mad at myself that I dont look the same way I did when I was addicted to pills is a complete waste of why I was put on this earth. Im posting these photos to let yall in on my truth. Im so grateful to be where I am now ( a year after these photos were taken) but man these times were dark. Im a human being with flaws just like you. If ur in the middle of the dark times...I promise you it doesnt have to last forever. Love yall A post shared by Colton Haynes (@coltonlhaynes) on Aug 18, 2019 at 4:04pm PDT

"I get immense joy when someone comes up to me & says that my willingness to open up about depression, anxiety, alcoholism, & addiction has helped them in some way," he continued. Haynes then revealed that the pressure to depict a certain version of himself on social media, incentivized by the likes and engagement he would get and by the perceived perfection of other people, led him down a dark path.

"Ive struggled the past year with trying to find my voice and where I fit in & that has been the most beautiful struggle Ive ever had to go through," he said. "Worrying about what time to post on social media so I can maximize my likes or being mad at myself that I dont look the same way I did when I was addicted to pills is a complete waste of why I was put on this earth."

He isn't alone. More than a third of men aged 18 to 34 feel pressure to look good online, and one in 20 have been body-shamed by internet trolls for the way they look . And a staggering one in four men don't like the way they look, period .

Haynes ended on a positive note, saying that the hospital photos are a reminder of how far he has come, and of the value of living an unfiltered life: "Im posting these photos to let yall in on my truth. Im so grateful to be where I am now ( a year after these photos were taken) but man these times were dark. Im a human being with flaws just like you. If ur in the middle of the dark times...I promise you it doesnt have to last forever. Love yall."