Dax Shepard shares how he supports wife Kristen Bell in navigatating mental health struggles
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Dax Shepard opened up about supporting his wife Kristen Bell through her struggles with mental health on the Monday, November 25 episode of his podcast 'Armchair Expert,' reported People.
The 49-year-old actor-comedian was discussing the coping mechanisms he employs when he feels depressed with his guest Anna Kendrick when he shared how he supports his wife, 44, to get through similar episodes.
Dax Shepard on Kristen Bell's depressive episodes
Dax Shepard stated that 'The Good Place' star would go into a "slump" while she is depressed and sleep a lot. Initially, it used to be scary for him, but he went through it "enough" times to understand better at present.
"Kristen has depression, so hers won't necessarily be incident-driven. It's not like she has a specific thing. She'll just have a wave of it. She'll sleep a lot and there's nothing I can do or nor do I think I should do," he told Kendrick on the podcast.
He went on to describe Bell being in a "slump," saying, "She's gonna sleep a lot for a while, and then she's gonna come out of it. Now earlier on, that used to scare me. And I was like, 'Is this gonna be forever?'"
However, after going "through the cycle enough," he said, "She's gonna organize for a couple days really, really, intensely, and then she's gonna sleep a lot for a few days, and then it's gonna be over."
Dax Shepard on helping out Kristen Bell through her periods
Dax Shepard also shared how he tries to support his wife through her menstrual cycle, noting that there were "steps" to his process.
"I will gently (be) like, 'Hey, love. Have you checked in with your psychiatrist lately? I'm not saying you need to do anything. Just, like, have you checked in with your psychiatrist?' So that'll be like one thing I can do," he said.
"It's evolved because I used to try to fix it. That's my nature and I used to try to talk her out of it or tell her what's good in her life or (make a) gratitude list," continued Shepard.
"One thing I'll still do, and she likes this, and it doesn't trigger (her) feeling judged about being sad, is (saying) let's go for a walk or let's go for a hike," he added. "Like, just encouraging, let's go move around."
Kristen Bell has been open about her mental health struggles
Kristen Bell has been vocal about her mental health journey but considered keeping her battle with depression and anxiety private at one point. She was encouraged by Shepard to share her issues as he himself had been honest about recovering from drug addiction.
The actress told People in January 2023, "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."
"It's because 'I'm feeling 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 there is comfort and resources around them in all shapes and sizes."
"Everybody's mental health journey, wellness journey is so individual. It is not one-size-fits-all. There are people with anxiety and depression that don't need medication, there are people that do, but the tools are out there. You have the ability to put as many tools inside your toolbox as you want. And having people feel empowered to take control of their mental health is incredibly important to me," she added.
