Just days after Lisa Rinna’s daughter Delilah Hamlin revealed her multiple rehab stints for depression, Rinna opened up about the 21-year-old model’s struggles with PANDAS, or pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections. And those two disclosures came a month after Amelia, Rinna’s younger daughter with husband Harry Hamlin, got candid about her battle with an eating disorder.
“First of all I want to say how proud I am of both of our girls,” Rinna, 56, wrote on her Instagram Stories on Monday, July 22. “I am in awe of how brave and courageous they are!”
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PANDAS may be diagnosed when “obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or tic disorders suddenly appear following a strep infection (such as strep throat or scarlet fever), or the symptoms of OCD or tic symptoms suddenly become worse following a strep infection.” Additionally, children with PANDAS may display moodiness or irritability and may suffer anxiety attacks.
“Roughly 10 percent of the pediatric population will develop PANDAS to some degree,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star elaborated. “In Delilah’s case the condition was extreme and caused serious anxiety and multiple phobias. … Thankfully we found the appropriate therapies and overtime she is doing much much better.”
On her own Instagram Stories, Delilah explained that she had been contacted by people in similar situations. “The amount of moms, the amounts of parents, children, people who struggle with PANDAS is shocking,” she said in a video clip on Tuesday, July 23. “People have been messaging me about anxiety, depression.”
“You’re not alone,” she added. “In my opinion, mental disease is not a disease. You’re just different. So it shouldn’t be stigmatized as something that is bad or negative. Everyone is equally their own person, and it’s not bad. So I just want to be here to spread awareness and use my platform for good.”
