Dakota Johnson is opening up about her struggles with depression and how boyfriend Chris Martin once noticed she was having a hard time, when she didn’t even know herself.
The 34-year-old actress talked about the moment during a speech she gave at the 2023 Hope for Depression Research Foundation annual luncheon earlier this month in New York City.
Keep reading to find out more…
“A few weeks ago, I was having a low day and my partner, said to me, ‘Are you really struggling?’ and I said ‘No?’ And he said, ‘Baby, you are wearing a Cats T-shirt.’ As in Cats the music. So it turns out, I really was struggling. But that moment lifted me up and pulled me out of it,” she said (via MSN).
Dakota has talked about her depression in the past, which she didn’t realize at first.
“I found it extremely stressful when I found out that the foundation was interested in giving me this advocacy award. At first, I was like ‘Wait, how do you know I am depressed?’” she said. “It turns out I have actually spoken about depression quite a handful of times as the foundation made me aware of after I frantically emailed saying ‘What am I going to talk about?’ Then, they sent me all these snippets since 2015 so it turns out I am an advocate. If me saying one little hopeful thing or one maybe relatable thing can help one other person feel a little bit better or a little bit less alone with their experience then I am a very willing advocate.”
She continued, “I think most of the time as you can probably tell, I speak about depression or anxiety in a very self-deprecating way. Perhaps, I sometimes find it easier to look it in the eyes if I mask it in comedy. Covering my pain or anxiety with comedy has become a lifelong tool, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing, it works, it helps me. Because, sometimes if I don’t laugh, I will cry. The biggest thing I’ve learnt about depression is learning to become okay with there never really being an immediate answer, never really being an immediate end.”
Dakota was spotted out for dinner with her manager last week in NYC.