When Kristen Bell experiences dark moments, her husband, Dax Shepard, is always there to help.
In the episode of his 25th stud Armchair expert podcast, Shepard, 49, discussed the “coping mechanisms” he uses when he’s feeling “depressed” when he revealed how he helps Bell, 44, overcome his own mental issues.
“Kristen has depression, so hers won’t necessarily be a result of the incident,” he said during a conversation with guest Anna Kendrick. “Not that there’s anything specific. He’ll just have a wave of it. He’ll be sleeping a lot and there’s nothing I can do and I don’t think I should.”
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(L) Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell.
Jason Bollenbacher/Getty
When Good place actress is experiencing mental health setbacks, Shepard says Bell will be “in the doldrums.”
“He’ll sleep a lot for a while, and then he’ll wake up. It used to scare me,” he admitted. “And I wondered, ‘Is this going to be forever?'”
Now that he’s “far enough through the cycle,” he knows, “she’ll organize for a few days really, really, intensely, and then she’ll sleep a lot for a few days, and then it’ll be over.”
Shepard also shared how he tries to help Bell get through those periods, adding that there are “steps” to his process.
Kristen Bell tried hallucinogenic mushrooms to help fight depression
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Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard.
Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty
“I will gently [be] like, ‘Hey, love. Have you seen your psychiatrist lately? I’m not saying you need to do anything. Just, like, have you checked in with your psychiatrist?'” he said. “So that would be one thing I can do. It developed because I was trying to fix it.”
He explained: “It’s my nature and I’ve been trying to talk her out of it or tell her what’s good in her life or [make a] gratitude list.”
“I will do one thing though, and she likes this, and it doesn’t provoke [her] feeling condemned because of sadness, it is [saying] let’s go for a walk or a hike,” he added. “Like, just encouraging, let’s get moving.”
Over the years, Bell has been vocal about her mental health journey with depression and anxiety. Despite her continued advocacy for mental health, she once told PEOPLE that there was a time when she kept her battle under wraps.
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“Before I shared my struggles with anxiety and depression, I realized that my public image was kind of a bubbly actress who probably didn’t have her down days,” Bell said in a January 2023 interview.
At the time, she revealed that Shepard challenged her to open up after he was honest about his own recovery from drug addiction.
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“It’s because ‘I feel sad’ is something you say to someone behind closed doors. And I don’t think that’s natural or normal,” she admitted. “People need to know that there are comforts and resources around them in all shapes and sizes.”
“Everyone’s mental health journey, wellness journey is so individual. It’s not one size fits all,” Bell continued. “There are people with anxiety and depression who don’t need medication, there are people who do, but the tools are out there. You have the ability to put as many tools in your toolbox as you want. And for people to feel empowered to take control of their mental health is amazing to me important.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the text crisis line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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Source: HIS Education