Actress Kristen Bell has not shied away from discussing her mental health struggles. But before becoming this outspoken advocate for mental health, she was just another woman, living with the stigma of her personal demons. Those fears kept her away from openly discussing the topic or making her story a tool to liberate others like her.
However, today, Kristen is one of many celebrities whose struggles have given strength to many across the globe, knowing they are not alone. In an interview with People, The Good Place alum, while announcing her new partnership with telehealth company Hers, went candid about her mental health journey.
Sharing Her Mental Health Struggles Changed Kristen Bell’s Outlook On Life
Kristen Bell explained how sharing her mental health struggle has so far provided a bit of authenticity to who she was. The star proceeded to admit things were not always that way when it came to her health challenges. According to her, at the onset of her struggles, she refrained from opening up about it because of the public notion of her as a picture-perfect actress, with no dark air around her. She quipped:
“Prior to sharing what my struggles were with anxiety and depression, I recognized that my picture publicly was this sort of bubbly actress that probably didn’t have any dark days.”
However, her husband, Dax Shepherd changed her perspective, after going public with his own battles with drug addiction. Although scared and intimidated at first to discuss her “dark, vulnerable moments,” the 48-year-old decided to come clean. She attributed the initial hesitation to her fear of being judged, explaining:
Setting A Revolution
Having overcome the stigma, Kristen Bells finds herself in a place where she could help others scale through their mental health struggles without shame. She deems her partnership with Hers as the right platform to do just that. The platform offers people, not only an avenue to open up freely but to do so from the comfort of their computer, anywhere in the world. The star described it as “personalized, professional mental health care,” urging people to tap into it.
As someone who has openly battled her mental health issues and tried several treatment methods to manage them, Kristen Bell has the right words for those struggling with their mental health. However, she maintains that everyone had a different health and wellness journey. Hence, there was no “one size fits all” approach to dealing with the condition. What mattered was how one chose to handle the challenges, hence the need to make people feel empowered to take charge of their mental health.
