Why it’s so important that Meb B is seeking treatment for PTSD

Former Spice Girl Mel B announced that she will be entering a UK-based therapy center after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“The past six months have been incredibly difficult for me," the America’s Got Talent judge, 43, told The Sun on Sunday. "I’ve been working with a writer on my book, Brutally Honest, and it has been unbelievably traumatic reliving an emotionally abusive relationship and confronting so many massive issues in my life."

During the interview, Mel hinted that she has used sex and alcohol as coping mechanisms to deal her PTSD, a mental health issue that people can develop after experiencing a life-threatening event, according to the National Center for PTSD.

“I am being very honest about drinking to numb my pain but that is just a way a lot of people mask what is really going on," she said.

"Sometimes it is too hard to cope with all the emotions I feel. But the problem has never been about sex or alcohol-it is underneath all that," she added. "I am fully aware I have been at a crisis point. No one knows myself better than I do-but I am dealing with it."

She also tweeted a link to the National Center for PTSD on Sunday, saying: "Knowledge is power."

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Mel officially split from her husband of 10 years, Stephen Belafonte, in December, according to People; a move that she says left her "financially battered" and contributed to the hardship she experienced in the months that followed. In divorce court documents, Mel B alleged that Stephen had been physically and emotionally abusive during their marriage. (Stephen has denied these allegations, and the charges were reportedly dropped when the divorce was settled in early August, according to People.)

In addition to entering into a UK-based treatment center next month, Mel has also reportedly begun a psychotherapy treatment called Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)-a type of therapy initially developed for treatment of PTSD, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).

The treatment, according to the APA, has patients focus on bilateral (left-to-right) eye movements, while focusing on traumatic memories, in an effort to change the way those memories are stored in the brain.

Mel B said she hopes her treatment will help encourage more people to find help for the mental health condition.

"I am still struggling, but if I can shine a light on the issue of pain, PTSD and the things men and women do to mask it, I will do," she said. "I am speaking about this because this is a huge issue for so many people."