Leader comment: Adele using her celebrity for good

Adele opened up to Vanity Fair about parenting and her struggle with postpartum depression in an issue for the magazine's December 2016 issue. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

The great power of celebrity in the modern world is often seen as a cause for concern. Modern media, particularly the rise of social media, have made celebrities more accessible and they have access to huge audiences. It is the potential power that their messages have that generally gives rise to concern. But with Adele, we see that the power of celebrity can be used in a very positive way.

And Adele is an absolute A-lister. She even only needs one name, a sure sign of the heights of superstardom. But despite her still very young age - she is only 28 - Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE is one of the best-selling recording artists in the world with sales of more than 100 million records. She has 27.2 million followers on Twitter.

She is a woman who appears to have everything she could want in life: money, fabulous success, a family, and more control over her life than most others can hope for.

But now she has revealed that she struggled with postnatal depression following the birth of her son, Angelo. She says she felt very inadequate.

When someone in Adele’s position talks about depression and how it has affected them, it explains more about the nature of the illness and how it can affect anyone, and it also just helps to chip away at the stigma that still surrounds mental health issues.

She reveals that she opened up to a friend about it, and that helped. Hopefully hearing her experience will allow others in the same position to know that there are things that can help, and make it easier to ask for that help. If Adele can, anyone can. What an admirable way to use her place in the world to help others.