Bonnie Mbuli

"Throughout my 20s, I was depression prone and also suffered from anxiety. The only way to keep a lid on the anxiety was to work out. Exercise went from being about aesthetics to wanting to be mentally sound. Fitness, for me, is key to staying on an even keel"

"I often liken caring for our mental health to maintaining a healthy immune system. You don’t start boosting your immune system once you’re sick. The point is to keep it healthy so you don’t get sick. I also realised that if we are constantly on the brink of being mentally compromised, anything that life throws our way just tips us over"

"When you’re going through a lot of emotional turmoil, you spend the bulk of your time running away from your body. Yoga, in my case, returned me to my body. That combination of movement and meditation really flipped the script for me"

"Beyond acting and producing, I really believe that my purpose is to help people win the war against their mental destruction. How do we live beyond the limitations of our bad habits and limiting beliefs? I’m interested in meeting the highest version of who God intended Bonnie to be"

"I think everyone has a propensity for depression. The trick is to teach your mind to recognise the symptoms ASAP. My two major depressive episodes taught me that everyone’s biggest enemy is their mind. Left to run rampant, our minds can easily become our worst enemies"

"When what you do for a living becomes your entire identity, it’s easy to view your life as finished when things don’t go your way in a particular situation or experience. It’s important to have a vision of yourself that is larger than the job because, after all, the job comes from you, right"

"Whatever purpose you were born for on this earth, you’re going to arrive in the form and shape best suited for it"

"How we are nurtured as children plays a big role in how we respond to life lessons"

"Apart from the fact that I meditate daily, work out and eat well, prayer is my mainstay. I pray through any and everything. No matter what circumstances surround me, no matter what comes and goes, prayer is the one thing that never changes. Prayer is where I source my strength. Prayer never leaves, it never forsakes me. It’s always me and God, and I’m really grateful for that"

"I think the biggest contributor to depression and anxiety, especially in our society today, is perceptions. There’s who we are, and then there’s this perception of what we’re supposed to acquire and become. Lastly, there’s this perception of perfection that is always held up to us. We always operate from a place of: ‘I fall short. I’m not meeting this and that criteria.’ My daily thing is reminding and asking myself: ‘How can I live, enjoy and unite with this current version of myself"

"We are so afraid to be vulnerable about who we really are. The minute we step out there, we wear this veil of perfection then walk around feeling like imposters all day. Yet, the reason we feel like imposters is because we’re just not being ourselves"

"Learning how to be vulnerable has been my biggest teacher…Vulnerable to my struggles and vulnerable in an industry where one is expected to appear perfect — or where, somehow, the people who appear perfect are the most applauded. I’ve always shattered this expectation because I just want to tell the truth!"

"Let your thoughts support, nurture and affirm the reality you’re building."

"It’s so important to teach our children at an early age to understand what anxiety is and equip them with tools to navigate it otherwise they start to believe that something is inherently wrong with them."

"The secrets of this universe are revealed to those who seek and are ready.The how of seeking is sacred and truly humbling."

"A lot of my inner healing work is spent trying to come to terms with the fact that being a woman living in South Africa is a trauma all on its own."