Kristen Bell credits her husband with helping her to open up about her depression.
The 37-year-old actress has been open to her fans about her battle with anxiety and depression in the past, but has now said she didn’t think about being honest about her feelings until her husband Dax Shepard – with whom she has daughters Lincoln, five, and Delta, three – encouraged her to do so.
She said: "I’m grateful to my husband for saying, ‘No, you should just talk about it.’ Like he talks about the fact that he’s sober, and that helps people. And I now have not stopped talking about it, mainly because I want people to hear that it’s not a big deal and that you can be happy and healthy."
The ‘Frozen’ actress also admitted her decision to speak out was partly influenced when she began to feel "inauthentic" in front of her fans.
She added: "When I was 18, my mum sat me down and said ‘Hey look, I suffered from anxiety and depression, so did your grandma. If you ever feel this, here’s what you can do, here are the resources that are available to you.’
"I had taken advantage of that when I started to feel anxiety and depression, but I didn’t really talk about it because I was feeling the stigma for many many years, and I had a pit in my stomach for almost feeling ashamed that I had hidden it for so long, because it could’ve helped people before if I’d talked about it.
"It occurred to me that I was showing this very bubbly, bright persona, and that it was inauthentic because it wasn’t telling the whole story."
Kristen and Dax, 43, are open with their fans about much of their lives, but the ‘Bad Moms’ star insists they’ll never over-share when it comes to their brood.
Speaking on the ‘Today’ show, she said: "As open as we are, we’ve agreed to a certain amount of openness. And the rest is ours. And it will stay ours. We are fiercely territorial about our family."
Kristen Bell thanks husband for encouraging her to be honest
