Rain Brown is opening up about her battle with depression and how her Alaskan Bush People family helped her through some of the darkest times of her life.
Brown, 16, took to Instagram Wednesday to share a lengthy post thanking her family and fans, revealing that after initially believing that her “happiness was over,” they helped her overcome her depression.
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Brown also revealed that she hopes to share more glimpses into her life in Washington with fans in the coming weeks and months.
“Life is about purpose. Change. Chance. Love. Hard work. And most of all, God,” the youngest of the Brown siblings wrote. “I’m so grateful that I get to spend my life with my incredible family in the bush of a beautiful state.”
“I never thought I would feel like I do now again. I thought my happiness was over, little did I know it was only beginning,” she continued. “With a full heart and tears in my eyes, I want to say, Thank you. thank you For allowing me to thrive and be myself, and most of all thank you for supporting my family’s hard work all these years. I can’t wait to share more of our lives with you. Here’s to freedom lovely’s, cheers.”
The Alaskan Bush People star’s struggles first began after her mother, Ami, was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer and given just a three percent chance of survival. After living in the Alaskan bush for much of her life, the cancer diagnosis not only rocked the family emotionally, but also uprooted them from their home as they traveled to the continental U.S. so the Brown family matriarch could seek treatment.
Throughout her mother’s battle, Brown remained open about her feelings, frequently taking to Instagram to pen messages about her ongoing struggle with depression and offering those going through similar struggles a note of hope.
“For the past few days I’ve been struggling with some things, such as my depression, life, and some teen girl probs too (ya know a broken nail) and I couldn’t figure out why I was in such bad shape I stayed in bed for about four days with minor aches and pains and I couldn’t find out a reason, it bothered me so much, I lost any want to be healthy or motivational, I was just a husk,” she wrote in October of 2017.
She went on to explain that she had woken in the middle of the night with the realization that “sometimes you don’t have to have a reason sometimes you don’t have to be perfect and somedays you just feel like staying in bed and watching old [Simply Nail Logical] videos and that’s OKAY.”
She ended the 2017 post by telling her followers to “stay strong” and “listen to your body and soul,” adding “don’t let your depression or dark feelings try to make you feel bad or people make you feel bad for doing what you know is right for you.”
Brown currently resides in Washington on her family’s 435-acre lot christened “North Star Ranch.
