The Bachelor alum Ben Higgins is apparently taking the time he needs to heal and recuperate following his recent breakdown.
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"Over the last few weeks based on the recommendation and love from those close to me I have been taking time to let my mind rest and heal," Ben tweeted.
Ben encouraged his followers to prioritize their mental health and happiness.
"If life allows you the opportunity I recommend doing the same in whatever capacity and avenue you believe is best. You deserve it," Ben added.
Ben admitted earlier this month he had experienced a "breakdown" over his lack of inspiration and vision for his future. Ben previously said he's been relying on family and friends to get him through "difficult times."
Ben, who starred on The Bachelor in 2016, has been trying to find his way in life as a former -- and essentially washed-up, for lack of a better term -- reality TV star.
Ben had told The Bachelorette alum Trista Rehn on her podcast that he's concerned about his legacy, but he shared with The Salvation Army in a video interview how he decided to turn to God for help.
"I believe Jesus' truth. When I cry out to Jesus, in the moments I need Jesus the most, God has always shown up, and not only that, in my biggest moments of doubt," Ben told The Salvation Army Midland Division.
"The point to me that always makes sense is Jesus gave his one clearest commandment: Love your God and love your neighbor. Through my life, sometimes that's the only [thing] that makes sense or fits. If I do that well, I also understand there is a God that loves, life seems to click."
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Since May, Ben has been hosting a new "Hope Still Wins" podcast, which allows him to have meaningful conversations about human stories, experiences, pains and joys.
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Prior to starring on The Bachelor, Ben revealed on Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette that he felt "unlovable."
Ben also recalled having an addiction to painkillers that began when he was a teenager and struggling with loneliness in his memoir, Alone in Plain Sight, which hit shelves in February.
Ben went from having social anxiety to being The Bachelor star, and now he claims to be in a transitional phase where attention from the public -- which he used to find satisfying -- is no longer gratifying or fulfilling.
"That attention, one, was unwarranted. Two, it felt really good. Then over time, the attention started to feel less good personally because it felt very selfish," Ben explained.
"I didn't really feel like it was doing a lot for me and my community around me. I didn't feel it was doing anything for me personally other than to make myself feel better. So, I started to slip back into a place of feeling lonely."
Ben acknowledged it wasn't easy to realize that people were only giving him attention because of his time on a reality TV show.
"That honestly felt like it was diminishing a lot of my life and a lot of things I was pursuing because I was getting attention for being on a show," Ben shared.
"Now, I'm sitting in a place where I'm in a transition phase. I'm still there -- I don't want to tell you I'm not -- where I'm looking to see what does life look like, maybe when the attention wanes and even if it continues, with all those factors and what is my role in that as a person."
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Ben, however, definitely has a life milestone to look forward to. He and his fiancee, Jessica Clark, are set to wed in November 2021. He has said Jessica is his biggest supporter and most healthy critic.
After competing for Kaitlyn's heart on The Bachelorette's eleventh season, Ben starred on The Bachelor and proposed marriage to his winner, Lauren Bushnell, during the Season 20 finale that aired in March 2016.
Once Ben's The Bachelor season wrapped, he and Lauren starred on a Bachelor spinoff called Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After? on Freeform. The pair, however, split not long after in May 2017.
Following his breakup with Lauren, Ben also appeared on The Bachelor: Winter Games, which aired on ABC in 2018.
Ben didn't appear to have a serious relationship until he met Jess, with whom he went Instagram official in January 2019 one month after meeting.
Ben and Jess got engaged in March 2020 and then purchased their first home together in Denver, CO, where Ben has been living for years, in December. The pair won't move in together, however, until after they wed given they've decided to abstain from sex until marriage.
Ben and Jess initially planned to wed in 2020 but pushed back their nuptials to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As far as his personal goals for the future go, Ben previously revealed in June 2020 that he'd like to start a family within a few years and probably adopt at least one child.
For Lauren's part, the Season 20 The Bachelor alum is married with one child, Dutton Walker, to country singer Chris Lane.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
