A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldLists about common mental illnesses and disorders and the many people around the world and throughout history who have lived with them.
Depression is an ailment that affects many people worldwide. When celebrities speak out about their depression, it's a reminder of how difficult the disease can be. Regardless of your circumstances, depression can cause feelings of inexplicable and prolonged sadness. Quotes on depression from celebrities illuminate the daily struggle of living with the illness and remind others they are not alone.
Comedians, actors, authors, and many other celebrities have chosen to be open about their depression over the years. Candid interviews in which famous people describe living with depression help raise public awareness of the condition. Learning how stars manage their depression can also inspire people to seek treatment. Whether you've experienced depression yourself or not, listening to these celebs is worth your time as it will educate you about the reality of the disease.
Pop star Billie Eilish has been open about her struggles with depression. Though she achieved mainstream success while still in her teens, her career has at times exacerbated her feelings of loneliness and isolation.
“I was so unhappy last year,” she said in a January 2020 interview. “I was so unhappy, and I was so, like, joyless. I don’t want to be too dark, but I genuinely didn’t think I’d make it to 17.”
Speaking to CBS's Gayle King, Eilish said that her depression reached the point that, during a hotel stay in Berlin, she considered taking her own life. "I was alone in my hotel, and I remember there was a window right there," she said. "I remember crying because I was thinking about how... the way that I was going to [perish] was, I was going to do it.”
Eilish is now attending to her mental health and wants her fans to do the same. As she explained to King:
I just grab [the fans] by the shoulders and I’m like, "Please take care of yourself and be good to yourself and be nice to yourself. Don’t take that extra step and hurt yourself further."
In an interview with Dr. Phil on his podcast, Phil in the Blanks,Sophie Turner opened up about the challenges of living with depression such as "getting out of bed, getting out of the house, and learning to love yourself." She called attention to the effects social media can have on young, up and coming stars. Turner explained:
I say I wasn’t very depressed when I was younger, but I used to think about suicide a lot... I don’t know why though. Maybe it’s just a weird fascination I used to have, but yeah, I used to think about it. I don’t think I ever would have gone through with it.
She also credits therapy and the support of her finacé, Joe Jonas, with the healing she has accomplished. Turner said:
I feel much better. I’ve been doing therapy at CAST centers, actually. I’m on medication. I love myself now, or more than I used to, I think. I don’t think I loved myself at all. But I’m now with someone that makes me realize that I do have some redeeming qualities, I suppose.
Sarah Silverman has been open about her depression throughout her career. While promoting her film I Smile Back, she spoke with NPR about her disease. The comedian stated, “The depression I experienced [felt] like a chemical change. It was like my perspective of the world changed about three degrees, and everything I saw was different. It feels like I'm terribly homesick, but I'm home. There's no way to satiate it.”
Kristen Bell chose to be candid about the fact she relies on antidepressants to regulate her mood. In 2016, in an Off Camera interview, she stated, “[My mom's] a nurse and . . . when I was 18 said, 'If you start to feel like you are twisting things around you, and you feel like there is no sunlight around you and you are paralyzed with fear, this is what it is.’ I got on a prescription when I was really young and I still take it today.”
A normally upbeat comedian, Wayne Brady revealed he suffered from clinical depression and frequently had thoughts of self-loathing due to the disease. In a 2014 interview, he stated:
“Having a bad day is one thing, having a bad week is another, having a bad life … You don't want to move, you can't move in the darkness. You're like, 'I am just going to sit right here and I want to wallow in this. As much as it hurts, I am going to sit right here because this is what I deserve. This is what I deserve, so I am going to sit here because I am that horrible of a person.'"
The film Girl, Interrupted was highly personal for Winona Ryder as she suffers from depression herself. Speaking about her role in the film, Ryder stated:
“It's such a cliche, but when you're depressed you really do think you're the only one going through it. The book really captured that time in your life that's so confusing and so oddly funny and weird. And she captured it with honesty and without being self-indulgent, in a way I hadn't seen since Salinger wrote about it in Catcher in the Rye. And that's saying a lot."
