Valerie Bertinelli openly discusses her mental health and a “hidden bruise.” On February 12, 2023, Bertinelli posted a video to Instagram in which she could be seen walking and speaking with the camera. Bertinelli’s speech is accompanied by a swishing sound as she walks throughout the video.

“I’m giggling because I had a small, hidden bruise activated today,” Bertinelli told the crowd. “My jeans are rubbing together, creating this particular sound, so you can probably hear them.” Her pants produced a swishing sound as she moved.

Bertinelli claimed she “stopped wearing” these pants after being “mercilessly mocked” by an ex who used to say that if she weren’t so lazy and lost weight, her pants wouldn’t make that noise.

Bertinelli later clarified what she meant by a “hidden bruise.” She put it this way: “Hidden bruises are something that emotional, verbal, and mental abuse does to you that people can’t see.”

“The work I’m doing on healing is working, so it’s now making me laugh,” she said. “I put these jeans away for good.” After laboring to heal her hidden bruise, she is able to “wear them, hear that sound, and to me, that sound represents freedom.”

Bertinelli stated at the end of her piece that she was hesitant to publish the video because she expected comments telling her to “let go of it” and “move on.” Nonetheless, she uploaded it because “this is what we call moving on.” This is referred to as healing. And welcome to everybody who can identify with this and feels heard. “I’m just another member of your tribe.”

In the comments section, her video garnered a lot of nice feedback. As one commenter pointed out, healing isn’t a straight line. But take a look at yourself! You’re thriving and surviving.

The following comment was left: “Thank you for sharing the concept of hidden bruises.”

“So proud of you!” said another supporter. Many people are inspired by you and your strength.

Learn more about Bertinelli’s journey to overcome her previous trauma in the video below.