Esperanza Hope To Cope: Hollywoods Kristen Bell Talks Depression Treatment and Staying Well

by bp Magazine

Actress Kristen Bell wants other people to know there’s help out there for depression or anxiety:

 

 

On growing up:

“I grew up as the kind of girl who wanted to please everyone, and being funny was one way of gaining acceptance and feeling less insecure,” says the 36-year-old star. “The only trouble with that kind of behavior is that you’re forced to put on this happy, bubbly act instead of just being yourself … so over the years I had to come to terms with how I had this deep sense of not feeling good about myself.”

 

On tackling stigma:

Since revealing on Off Camera with Sam Jones that she’s lived with depression since college, Bell has taken many opportunities to promote a better understanding of mental health challenges. “It’s a priority to me to reach people who might be struggling with similar issues that I’ve struggled with. I just wanted other people to know there are options out there if they feel a sense of depression or anxiety.”

 

On staying well emotionally:

She’s taken advantage of medical care, self-care and therapy, including regular couples counseling to smooth roadbumps in her marriage. “You do better in the gym with a trainer; you don’t figure out how to cook without reading a recipe—therapy is not something to be embarrassed about,” she told Good Housekeeping last year.

 

On taking antidepressants:

Bell consistently emphasizes that depression isn’t a choice or a weakness. It can happen to anyone at any time and for no obvious reason, due simply to a quirk in brain chemistry. She vehemently dismisses the idea that, “You’re labeled as a failure if you can’t kick depression. You would never deny a diabetic his insulin and go, ‘Why can’t you process sugar on your own?’”

 

On seeking therapy:

“After all, I’ll see the doctor if I have the sniffles,” Bell writes in a powerful, heartfelt essay that ran on Time magazine’s digital site Motto. “If you tell a friend that you are sick, his first response is likely, ‘You should get that checked out by a doctor.’ Yet if you tell a friend you’re feeling depressed, he will be scared or reluctant to give you that same advice. You know what? I’m over it.”

 

On her career and mental health:

“I didn’t speak about my struggles with mental health for the first 15 years of my career, but now I’m at a point where I don’t believe anything should be taboo,” she wrote.

 

On her family: 

“I treat my work, and the projects I want to do, in function of how I feel about the needs of my husband and our daughters. I want our family to be happy and together even if that means giving up a good role every now and again. My family is my priority.”

 

For more, read: Kristen Bell Is In ‘The Good Place’

 

 

via Esperanza – Hope To Cope
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