Actor Jada Pinkett Smith recently came to the realization that she experienced “some anxiety” while growing up, and it was her daughter, Willow, who helped her notice it.
During the latest episode of Red Table Talk, released Monday, Pinkett Smith said her daughter’s behavior helped her examine her own. “In having to deal with, and learn about [Willow’s] anxiety, I’ve had to look at some of my own behaviors and the behaviors of my mother, and go, well of course I probably have some anxiety in regards to how I grew up,” Pinkett Smith said.
The latest episode, which centered on mental health, included Pinkett Smith, her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, Pinkett Smith’s 21-year-old daughter, Willow Smith; plus actor Kim Basinger and her daughter, Ireland Baldwin. Pinkett Smith went on to reveal that when she was younger, she would bite her nails right “down to the cuticles,” but it was dismissed as a habit. According to Cedars Sinai, nail-biting can indeed be a sign of anxiety. The repetitive behavior helps some people cope with stressful emotions.
Pinkett Smith’s mother cited that at the time she was growing up, there was less candor in discussing mental health and there was a greater stigma attached to it. “I think in our world, I almost saw it as a weakness. We just couldn’t afford to be anxious,” Banfield-Norris