Inside Presley Gerber's heartbreaking addiction battle and mission to help others

The mental health advocate revealed that he struggled to take the bevy of medications prescribed to him for his mental health issues, and wanted a doctor to "help me taper".

"Every psychiatrist I've had, and I've had like 15, they're all like, 'Well, here's 20 medications.' I'm just trying to, hopefully, find a good community," he said in a since-deleted social media video posted in December 2025. 

Presley opened up about feeling "terrified" in March before starting ibogaine treatment – a psychedelic drug that is being explored for its potential to treat opioid and cocaine addiction.

"Pre Ibogaine Flood Dose – quiet moment before everything changed," he captioned his social media post.

"I was absolutely terrified, and I knew I would be again if I ever had to face something like this (helps to not go into the situations you do that get ya there, but that's life sometimes.) My mantras were love yourself, and [it's] gotta be the last time for this reason."

"Letting go of control didn't come easy, but I trusted there was something bigger than me guiding it," he continued. "I knew why I was there. I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself…We shall see…"

Presley admitted that he hoped this was "the last time" he would need to receive treatment. 

Presley used his experiences with addiction and mental health issues to help others going through similar battles. 

He shared on the Studio 22 podcast in 2023 that his purpose in life was to provide guidance and hope for people fighting their own demons.

"Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that, I think that whether I help one person or 100 people get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that's all I need to do," he said. 

"[Mental health] is an issue. It is such a big part of my life. It's a 24/7 job, and there's so much to it."

"That's really what I want to do: help people, whether you're depressed, you're struggling with something that is having a negative effect on your body. I mean, it could be anything, and there's no judgment," he continued.

"I've seen a lot of stuff, and I've learned a lot of things. What I hope I can do is have made the mistakes for some other people, so they don't have to make the same mistakes that I made."

Presley's final public appearance on June 11 saw the model speak on a panel with his parents, Cindy and Rande, about his mental health journey. "The most free I felt was when I was finally honest with myself," he shared.

Presley also had advice for people looking to improve their mental health through small actions. 

"Move your body regardless of how you're feeling. Get outside. Get some sun. If you don't feel like moving, lie on the grass," he said.

Presley's family were incredibly supportive throughout his addiction struggles, and his younger sister, Kaia, praised his efforts in raising awareness of mental health issues.

"When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone," she told Vogue in August. "I think that's also why I started to self-identify as the easy one and never wanted to ask for help. Because it felt like too much to have two children who were needing."

"My parents for most of our lives were very, very private and didn't share anything – and now we have this absolute teacher, my brother, who says, 'I'm gonna be very human for everyone.'"

She continued: "There's only so much you can hide from the world. And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you're ashamed of them."