Kristen Bell says she has been suffering from depression and anxiety since she was young. And she wants people to know that there is no shame in dealing with the mental disorders.
"I'm extremely codependent," the "Veronica Mars" actress said in an interview on DirecTV's "Off Camera." "I shatter a little bit when I think people don't like me. That's part of why I lead with kindness and I compensate by being very bubbly all the time because it really hurts my feelings when I know I'm not liked. And I know that's not very healthy and I fight it all the time."
The 35-year-old said mental disorders run in her family. When she was young, she witnessed her mother going through the hardship. Later, her mother revealed that Bell's grandmother also suffered from mental disorders. She also told her daughter what to look for.
"[My mom's] a nurse and she had the wherewithal to recognize that in herself when she was feeling it and when I was 18 said, 'If you start to feel like you are twisting things around you, and you feel like there is no sunlight around you, and you are paralyzed with fear, this is what it is and here's how you can help yourself," Bell said.
Bell, who's married to actor Dax Shepard and has two children, takes prescription medications for depression and anxiety. She wants others to know that the stigma attached to medications for mental disorders is ridiculous.
“If you do decide to go on a prescription to help yourself, understand that the world wants to shame you for that, but in the medical community, you would never deny a diabetic his insulin. Ever,” she said. “But for some reason, when someone needs a serotonin inhibitor, they’re immediately crazy or something.”
In addiction to medication, Bell seeks medical help whenever she needs it and eats a healthy diet.
The actress has a lot of company. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 40 million adults in the US over the age of 18, or 18% of the population, suffer from anxiety. And while anxiety and depression are different disorders, many people suffer from both.
Watch Bell talk about depression and anxiety below:
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