Ryan Reynolds talked about his mental health struggles in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, which is May.
Ryan Reynolds is one of America's finest actors, who has managed to make us fall in love with every character he played onscreen. Recently, Reynolds took to social media to address the state of his mental health. According to People, the 44-year-old star took to Instagram with a post on his lifelong struggle with anxiety. In a candid post, Reynolds stated that he was talking about his mental health in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, which is May.
"One of the reasons I'm posting this so late is I overschedule myself and important things slip. And one of the reasons I overschedule myself is my lifelong pal, anxiety," stated the actor. He went on to say, "I know I'm not alone and more importantly, to all those like me who overschedule, overthink, overwork, over-worry and over-everything, please know you're not alone," he continued.
Further, the actor admitted that the topic of mental health was not as widely discussed as it should be. "We don't talk enough about mental health and don't do enough to destigmatize talking about it," said the star. Many fans resonated with the actor's message and shared their thoughts through the comments.
Some even shared their own experiences. "I feel you on this one. I've been dealing with my son's mental health since March. I've had to miss so much work for unpaid leave that's it's crazy. Not sure how rent will be paid let alone any other bills. But his mental health comes first," wrote one fan.
Another wrote, "I feel this in the depths of my soul. I only learned about what this was after my first kid turned 1. I always wondered what was 'wrong' with me. Even knowing what it is still makes life hard and every day I struggle to survive."
Meanwhile, Reynolds has spoken about this part of his life in the past. In 2016, the star disclosed to GQ that he had a breakdown while shooting the evergreen movie, Deadpool, a dream project he worked on for 11 years.
Recalling the tough time, the father of three stated, "I felt like I was on some schooner in the middle of a white squall the whole time. It just never stopped. When it finally ended, I had a little bit of a nervous breakdown. I literally had the shakes."
Unable to continue with his work at the time, Reynolds decided to visit a doctor. "I went to go see a doctor because I felt like I was suffering from a neurological problem or something. And every doctor I saw said, 'You have anxiety,'" recounted the actor.
He continued, "I was banging the loudest drum for Deadpool. I wasn't just trying to open it; I was trying to make a cultural phenomenon."
Reynolds also revealed that he has had similar experiences at the beginning of his career. "I have anxiety. I've always had anxiety," he said to The New York Times in 2018. He added, "Both in the lighthearted 'I'm anxious about this' kind of thing, and I've been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun."
References:
https://people.com/health/ryan-reynolds-gets-candid-about-lifelong-struggle-with-anxiety/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPVizNIhpTt/
http://www.gq.com/story/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-blake-lively-life-moty
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/movies/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-2.html
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Woohae Cho
