Even though depression, anxiety, and mental health are becoming more publicly discussed, there is a stigma attached to it. It’s still seen as a weakness instead of a disease. Mental wellness is not regarded in the same way physical wellness is. It isn’t discussed at home or at schools — making the important topic all but taboo. That’s why it is so important that we talk publicly about our struggles with mental health.

It’s with that in mind that “Jane the Virgin” star Gina Rodriguez opened up about her own experiences.

Rodriguez has been open about her personal experience with her mental health in the past.

In 2017, in fact, she posted about her journey with anxiety in a very candid Instagram post.

She has now opened up even further in an emotional sitdown with NBC’s Kate Snow during the recent Kennedy Forum.

The actress explained:

“I think I started dealing with depression around sixteen. I started dealing with the idea of…everything is going to be better when I’m gone. Life will be easier. All the woes will be away, all the problems. Then I wouldn’t have to fail or succeed, right? Then all this surmounting pressure would go away.”

The pressure Rodriguez refers to includes the difficult time she had while filming the final season of “Jane the Virgin.”

According to the star, she began suffering from panic-induced, debilitating anxiety attacks while on set.

“There was a point where I couldn’t, I couldn’t push through every single time anymore,” Rodriguez shared with Snow. “And I’m one of those human beings…I’m just like, ‘I’ll handle it later. I’ll deal with it later. I’ll figure it out later. I just have to do this now.’ All the while dealing with this, you know, your silent little dragon in your head.”

Rodriguez went on to explain that this struggle caused her to stop production on the series for the first time ever.

“I had a really tumultuous season, she confessed. “I was unafraid for the first time to be like, ‘I can’t.'”

That courage motivated Rodriguez to get the help she needed and to take the time to prioritize herself. It’s a milestone that anyone who fights against their mental illness would recognize. We can only imagine the pressure Rodriguez faced in the midst of a busy production schedule.

Her ability to speak openly about mental health is motivated by the girls and women who look up to her.

“I can’t just tell them to go out and make their dreams come true and then to ignore everything else,” Rodriguez explained.

The actress has long been a mentor in the fields of art, body positivity, immigration rights, and feminism. In 2016, Rodriguez launched the We Will Foundation to promote young artists through education and scholarships. In 2018, she worked with P&G to start the Always Campaign to benefit Feeding America.

This candid conversation is another example of her commitment to being the sort of mentor the world needs most.

Poor mental health is often a side effect of other illnesses; which is the case with Rodriguez.

Anxiety and depression are complications of her Hashimoto’s Disease. Rodriguez shared in a 2017 SELF interview that the medicine she takes for her thyroid causes heart palpitations. This disrupted rhythm sometimes triggers panic attacks.

The illness has forced the actress to reassess herself and become more self-aware. After adjusting her medication, she noticed improvements.

Still, Rodriguez had to face the bigger issue of her underlined mental health. That self-awareness has helped her and hopefully, her experience can help others struggling with the same issues.

It’s no secret that we love “Jane the Virgin” around here. Everything about the show makes for guilty-pleasure, comfort-food TV that we’re always excited to watch. Needless to say, we’re going to miss it a lot when it’s gone.

That being said, we don’t always love all of Jane Gloriana Villanueva’s actions. Although Jane is hard-working, honest, and kind, she can also be judgmental, hypocritical and, once in a while, self-centered. Like any great character on TV, Jane is multi-layered and complicated, which might be the reason why the show is so irresistible. Take a look below for 20 times Jane was the most frustrating character on “Jane the Virgin”.

1. When she looked down on Rafael for being rich.

We’ve never been a fan of how Jane equates wealth with immorality. For example, she gets upset when she founds out Rafael set up an estate plan for Mateo. “I don’t like her family’s attitude towards money,” says Reddit user u/Simba122504. “Money is not evil. People just do evil things for/with money. But money itself is good”.

2. When she had an emotional affair with Rafael when she was with Michael

We get that Jane had conflicted feelings about being in a relationship with Michael while unexpectedly having a child with another man, but that doesn’t give her an excuse to toe-the-line between co-parenting and romance with Rafael. Michael deserved better than that.

3. When she ran straight to Rafael after only a few hours after breaking up with Michael

We never understood how Jane could switch love interests so quickly. “She was with Michael for two years, prepared to marry him, then breaks it off,” says Reddit user u/soniamissaghi . “And two hours later she was over him and kissing Rafael???!?”.

4. When she was judgmental about Adam being bisexual

Jane’s reaction to Adam’s revelation that he was bisexual is one of the prime examples of how her judgmental nature negatively impacts her relationships. The fact that she had these out-dated beliefs about masculinity and sexuality was troubling. C’mon Jane–it’s 2019!

5. When she guilt-tripped Adam for moving to LA to follow his dreams

A lot of viewers took issue with the way Jane reacted to Adam leaving Miami to accept a once-in-a-lifetime job offer in California. “[Adam] had been so supportive of her dreams, and she doesn’t want to be supportive of his,” said Reddit user u/kbaeisbae. “I understand that he said he wasn’t going to leave and then changed his mind…but I just hated the way Jane reacted to that”.

6. When she prioritized her parenting rules over Rafael’s

Jane is never more insufferable when she’s trying to dominate the parenting-dynamic between her and Rafael. When it comes to child-rearing, for Jane, it’s her way or the highway. There’s hardly any middle-ground.

7. When she was super pushy with Rafael about raising Mateo Catholic

From the beginning, Rafael always voiced his concerns about raising his son in any form of organized religion. Jane never seemed to take these concerns to heart, though, and strong-armed Rafael into agreeing that Mateo would be raised Catholic.

8. When she tried to force JR to like her (because she needs everyone to like her)

Jane’s Mary-Sue perfectionism was never more apparent than when she discovered that Petra’s girlfriend, JR (played by Rosario Dawson), didn’t vibe with her. Instead of letting sleeping dogs lie, Jane did everything in her power to force a friendship with her.

9. When she used Fabian for sex and then dumped him when he wanted something serious

We’ve always found it problematic how much Jane objectified pretty-boy Fabian. Not to mention, it’s hard to get over the fact that she tried to dump him when she finds out he was trying to wait to have sex. “When the shoe’s on the other foot, she struggles to accept Fabian’s choice and treat him as a person,” says Reddit user u/rrsn. “She sees him as beneath her”.

10. When Jane got really whiny when her college adviser criticized her writing

Jane had a habit of looking down on people who’s morals didn’t align with hers. But, when her English professor gave her a taste of her own medicine, she couldn’t handle it. “[Jane] judges everyone and finds them beneath her,” says u/frst91 on Reddit. “When Professor Donaldson judges her as a person and as a writer, she is frustrated and rude to her and over-defensive”.

11. When Jane criticized an amateur author’s writing in the writing group she just joined

Jane was all-too-eager to criticize a fellow amateur author’s writing when she joined a writing group. While the rest of the group members offered positive feedback, Jane jumped the gun and critiqued where she should’ve complimented.

12. When she pursued Rafael after insisting she didn’t have feelings for him anymore

Reddit user u/bkandtherose describes Jane’s double-crossing perfectly here: “I was quite irritated by how she went home with the intention to jump in the shower with Rafael after trying to convince Petra that there was nothing and she wasn’t after Rafael. That was a really shitty thing to do considering her and Petra are family and do care for each other somehow”.

13. When she wouldn’t support her mother’s decisions regarding her own body when she was diagnosed with cancer

Jane has always been a master meddler, but she went too far when she was trying to influence Xiomara’s plan of action for her cancer treatment. “The whole meddling judge-y ‘my Google research is better than your oncologist’ thing is getting pretty old for me,” said Reddit user u/mrsawinter.

14. When she bailed on her and Michael’s engagement party after making a big deal about it

When Jane discovered that Michael’s parents weren’t her biggest fans, she went out of her way to insist that they attend their engagement party. She then proceeds to ghost on the party without much prompting and offers them very little explanation. “I’m still annoyed that Jane bailed on her own engagement party and was then angry that Michael’s parents were mad with her,” said Reddit user u/punkypizza.

15. When she looked down on Petra’s parenting style

When Jane became a mother, a whole new world opened up for her to judge other moms and compare her skills to theirs. For example, we couldn’t help but roll our eyes when Alba and Jane concluded that Petra wasn’t a “hands-on mom” because she forgets her children’s nap times.

16. When she considered writing plagiarized essays for money

The fact that Jane was even considering writing a spoiled rich kid’s paper shows that her hard-line approach to ethics is a little more flexible when applied to her specific situations. We give her props for finally deciding against it, though.

17. When she babied Mateo to the degree where she fell short of disciplining him.

Loyal watchers of the show know that Mateo has behavioral problems and struggles to respect authority figures. Reddit user u/chelsiigc believes that “Jane needs to get off her high horse and realize that [Mateo] isn’t an angel”. “Petra, unlike Jane,” she says, “actually disciplines her kid”.

18. When she frowned upon accepting money from Rafael when she never had a problem accepting money from Rogelio

Before Rafael lost all his money, Jane had a habit of making him feel bad for offering her money to make her day-to-day life easier. From an outsider’s perspective, it didn’t make sense. Mateo is Rafael’s kid, after all–why wouldn’t he want his child to have access to the best?

19. When she holds a grudge against Rafael for getting angry at her

When Rafael is under a lot of pressure at work, he ends up lashing out on Jane in Season 1. Instead of accepting his apology, Jane chooses to cling to the mistake. “She makes this whole show of apologizing and expects the other person to just get over it, but when it’s the other way around, Jane holds a grudge!” says u/RealWitchyMermaid on Reddit.

20. When she callously rejected her mother’s parenting advice because she thought she knew better

When Jane is pregnant, coming to terms with how she’ll be a mother, and generally freaking out, Xiomara tries to reassure her that everything will be okay. Instead of accepting the advice, Jane turns around to criticize the way her mother raised her. It was a painful scene to watch.