Sof Aragón: Author, Actress, Producer

How did your upbringing and early experiences shape your commitment to personal growth and mental health advocacy?

"Growing up, I learned very early that being sensitive is not a weakness, even if the world sometimes makes you feel like it is," Aragón noted, reflecting on her formative years. "I went through moments where I looked perfectly fine on the outside, but inside I was trying to understand my own mind, my emotions, and why life could feel so heavy sometimes."

She continued, "Those experiences made me deeply curious about healing. Not from a perfect place, but from a very human place. I started therapy, I started reading, writing, asking questions, and little by little I understood that mental health is not just about 'being okay.' It is about learning how to come back to yourself with love, honesty, and patience."

"That is why I care so much about personal growth and mental health advocacy," she added. "Because I know what it feels like to suffer in silence, and I also know how powerful it is when someone tells you: 'You are not broken. There is a way through.'"

Reflecting on your time at Miss Universe 2019, what was the most valuable lesson you learned that you apply in your work today?

"The biggest lesson Miss Universe taught me is that being prepared is important, but being present is everything," she remarked.

"You can have the perfect dress, the perfect answer, the perfect plan… but life still asks you to show up with your heart, not just your image," Aragón explained. "That experience taught me that true strength is not about looking flawless; it is about staying grounded when everything around you is bigger than you imagined."

"I apply that in my work today, especially as an actress, writer, and producer," she said. "I try to create from a place that feels honest, not perfect. Because people don’t really connect with perfection. They connect with truth."

What do you believe are the biggest misconceptions about mental health that you aim to address through your advocacy?

"I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that mental health only matters when someone is in crisis," she stated. "But the truth is, mental health is something we live with every single day. It affects the way we love, the way we work, the way we see ourselves, and the way we experience life."

Aragón went on to address the stigma surrounding vulnerability: "Another misconception is that struggling means you are weak. I believe it is actually the opposite. Sometimes the strongest people are the ones who have been silently fighting battles no one can see."

"Through my work," she emphasized, "I want to help people understand that healing is not about becoming perfect or happy all the time. It is about learning to listen to yourself, ask for help, and treat your inner world with the same care you would give to your body."

Sharing your struggles with depression has been a courageous step. How has this openness impacted your relationship with your audience?

"It has created a much deeper and more honest connection," she observed.

"For a long time, people saw me through a very polished image, and I am grateful for that part of my story, but it was not the whole truth," Aragón confessed. "When I started speaking about depression, I think many people felt they were finally seeing the human being behind the crown, the photos, and the public life."

"What has touched me the most," she said with evident sincerity, "is when someone tells me, 'I thought I was the only one feeling this way.' That is the reason I keep sharing. Not because I have all the answers, but because sometimes honesty can become a little light for someone who is going through the dark."

In your book El color de lo invisible, what specific experiences do you examine, and what do you hope readers gain from them?

"In El color de lo invisible, I explore the experiences we usually don’t know how to explain: anxiety, depression, emotional pain, loneliness, fear, trauma, and the silent battles that happen inside a person even when everything looks fine from the outside," she shared.

"A lot of the book comes from my own journey, especially from the moments where I felt lost, overwhelmed, or disconnected from myself," she noted. "But I also wanted to bring in psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and spirituality, because I believe healing is not just one thing. Sometimes we need science to understand what is happening in the brain, and sometimes we need meaning to understand what is happening in the soul."

"What I hope readers gain is a sense of relief," Aragón said. "I want them to feel less alone, less ashamed, and more capable of understanding themselves. I want the book to feel like someone sitting next to them and saying: 'What you feel has a name. What you feel makes sense. And you can find your way back to yourself.'"

Can you share a few practical strategies or tools that have helped you and that you recommend to others for building self-esteem and resilience?

"Yes," she began. "For me, self-esteem has not been about waking up every day feeling powerful. It has been about learning how to stay kind to myself even on the days when I don’t feel that strong."

"One tool that has helped me a lot is therapy," she continued.

"Having a safe space where you can understand your patterns, your wounds, and your fears changes everything. Another one is writing. I write to organize what I feel, because sometimes the mind becomes too loud and paper helps me see things more clearly."

Aragón also pointed toward the power of routine: "I also believe in small promises. Not huge life transformations overnight, but simple acts of self-respect: moving your body, sleeping better, setting one boundary, finishing one thing you said you would do. Every time you keep a promise to yourself, your self-esteem grows quietly."

"And finally," she concluded, "asking for help. Resilience is not pretending you can do everything alone. Sometimes resilience is having the humility to say, 'I need support,' and allowing yourself to receive it."

What initiatives or campaigns have you found to be most effective in promoting mental health awareness and fostering empathy in communities?

"I believe the most effective initiatives are the ones that make mental health feel human, not distant or clinical," she reasoned.

"Campaigns that combine real stories with real tools are the most powerful," she said. "It is not enough to say, 'mental health matters.' People need to hear someone say, 'I have been there too,' and then also receive practical guidance: how to ask for help, how to support a friend, how to recognize when something is not okay."

"I also think schools, social media, and community spaces are very important, because empathy starts with education," Aragón added.

"When people understand that depression, anxiety, trauma, or emotional pain are not character flaws, they become less judgmental and more compassionate. For me, the best campaigns don’t try to make suffering look beautiful. They make it less lonely."

How do you use social media to spread your advocacy on mental health, and what challenges do you face in navigating these platforms?

"I use social media as a bridge," she stated. "Not to show a perfect life, but to create small moments of honesty where someone can feel seen."

"Sometimes it is a reflection, sometimes it is something I learned in therapy, sometimes it is a personal experience, and sometimes it is just a reminder I wish someone had told me when I was younger," Aragón noted. "I try to speak in a way that feels close, simple, and real, because mental health should not feel unreachable."

She admitted to the difficulties inherent in digital spaces: "The challenge is that social media can also be a very confusing place. It rewards perfection, speed, and comparison, while healing requires patience, silence, and truth. So I try to be careful with what I share, to not turn pain into performance, and to remember that behind every screen there is a real person who may be carrying something invisible."

What advice would you give to young women struggling to find their voice?

"I would tell them: your voice is not something you have to invent. It is something you have to remember," she said thoughtfully.

"A lot of us spend years trying to be liked, understood, chosen, or accepted, and little by little we start editing ourselves," Aragón observed. "We make ourselves smaller. We become quieter. We become more convenient."

"But your voice comes back every time you are honest with yourself," she affirmed.

"Every time you say what you really feel. Every time you stop apologizing for having dreams, boundaries, opinions, or emotions."

"You don’t need to be loud to be powerful," she said. "You just need to be true. And the moment you start choosing yourself, even softly, your voice starts coming back."

What are your aspirations for the future in terms of your advocacy work and any upcoming films that you’re excited about?

"My aspiration is to keep creating work that helps people feel less alone," she stated.

"Through my advocacy, I want to keep speaking about mental health in a way that feels human, beautiful, and honest," she explained. "Not as something perfect or inspirational all the time, but as something real. I want to create more spaces, books, conversations, and projects where people can understand themselves with less shame and more compassion."

Regarding her screen work, she added, "In film, I am very excited about the stories I am developing because they also come from that same place. I am interested in cinema that explores the invisible parts of being human: emotional pain, identity, love, loneliness, resilience, and the things we hide behind a beautiful image."

"For me," she concluded, "advocacy and film are starting to become part of the same mission: to transform pain into something that can move, heal, and connect with others."

You can follow Sof Aragón on Instagram, IMDb.