When Mental Health Makes Waves
Cosmopolitan US|Issue 06, 2022
How TWICE-K-pop's record-breaking, stadium-touring, highly in-demand girl group-made it easier for an entire industry to be more honest.
KAT MOON
When Mental Health Makes Waves

When your latest project—in this case, your 11th EP, Between 1&2—sells more than 1. million units in preorders before it’s even released, you might not blame anyone for assuming you're riding high. Especially because, not just in South Korea or the States but in the world over, success and happiness are branded as basically inextricable. If you have the former, you have the latter, right?

But for Jihyo, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu—the nine 23to 27-year-old stars of TWICE—there’s no reason to maintain that charade, despite K-pop’s reputation for near-inescapable control of its messaging and its reluctance in the past to acknowledge or accommodate the challenges of global fame.

All that shifted in 2019 when TWICE's management company, JYP Entertainment JYPE), announced that Mina would no longer participate in the group's current world tour due to an anxiety disorder. It made headlines worldwide. Mina is currently struggling with sudden extreme anxiety and insecurity toward performing onstage,” a statement read. While it’s not uncommon for stars to take breaks, it’s rare for labels to share their artists’ diagnoses, especially in South Korea, where heavy stigmas around anxiety and depression persist. JYPE’s disclosure about Mina’s condition was a game changer. Fans showered Mina, TWICE, and JYPE with praise and support on social media.

This story is from the Issue 06, 2022 edition of Cosmopolitan US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Issue 06, 2022 edition of Cosmopolitan US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM COSMOPOLITAN USView All
DREAM-SCROLLING FOR DINNER
Cosmopolitan US

DREAM-SCROLLING FOR DINNER

With young people in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, TikTok creators are turning grocery runs into rich-girl-coded productions - and followers are eating it up. Krista Diamond digs into what happens when a cart full of staple goods becomes a clout metric.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2025
Young Love in Atlanta
Cosmopolitan US

Young Love in Atlanta

WE TOOK OUR COUPLE SPOTTING SERIES DOWN SOUTH.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2025
THE NEW C-SUITE 2024
Cosmopolitan US

THE NEW C-SUITE 2024

Progress. It’s a word that, in 2024, gets thrown around a lot. Especially when it comes to representation across all sorts of roles at all sorts of companies, including, crucially, at start-ups. Yet...people of color—and specifically women of color—still don’t often get the chance to even enter the conversation. Over the past few years, less than 1 percent of venture capital funding in this country has gone toward women of color entrepreneurs. (Making matters worse, funds that are geared toward supporting these women have become targets of anti-affirmative-action groups, forcing at least one to shut down entirely.)

time-read
8 mins  |
Winter 2025
Revenge Dressing
Cosmopolitan US

Revenge Dressing

Model and content creator Olivia Ponton is giving you permission to bring everyone who's ever wronged you to their knees with these simple yet very effective styles.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2025
HOTTER Than DRAGON FIRE
Cosmopolitan US

HOTTER Than DRAGON FIRE

It’s very likely that no matter where you are right now, there’s a copy of Fourth Wing nearby. Probably one of Iron Flame too. Both books, by romantasy queen Rebecca Yarros, topped every bestseller list—and absolutely ignited BookTok, spawning a rabid fandom that cannot get enough of badass heroine Violet Sorrengail and her relationship with fellow dragon-rider Xaden Riorson. Honestly, what’s not to love? There’s extreme adventure. Absurdly high stakes. Wildly hot sex. And the promise of a lot more, starting right here, with this exclusive first excerpt of the series’ third book, Onyx Storm. Friends, get your daggers ready. (IYKYK. If you don’t, prepare to get obsessed.)

time-read
8 mins  |
Winter 2025
RACHEL ZEGLER
Cosmopolitan US

RACHEL ZEGLER

She won a Golden Globe for her first major film role, in West Side Story. She took on a beloved franchise and made the newest Hunger Games a hit. She became a bona fide Disney princess with 2025's Snow White. And now the 23-year-old is checking a new career milestone off her bucket list: Broadway. Here, she chats with her Romeo + Juliet collaborator Jack Antonoff about it all.

time-read
10 mins  |
Winter 2025
Your Holiday Brunch Requires a Panful of These Treats
Cosmopolitan US

Your Holiday Brunch Requires a Panful of These Treats

A gooey, coconutty gift to you and yours from Tik Tok-viral chef Tuệ Nguyễn.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2025
We Need to Talk About ADHD in Young Women
Cosmopolitan US

We Need to Talk About ADHD in Young Women

We've been excluded from this conversation for a long time...and we're suffering because of it.

time-read
4 mins  |
Winter 2025
Go Ahead - Plan a Trip Around the Northern Lights
Cosmopolitan US

Go Ahead - Plan a Trip Around the Northern Lights

Because we're in the midst of a solar maximum (yup, we had to google it too) that's expected to end soon and this is the most intense and most accessible the aurora borealis will be for years. These stunning under-the-radar spots will grant you the best, least crowded views.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2025
I Got My Tubes Removed and It Was the Most Liberating Experience
Cosmopolitan US

I Got My Tubes Removed and It Was the Most Liberating Experience

With reproductive health care ever at risk in this country, could this be the future of birth control?

time-read
4 mins  |
Winter 2025