Topics: Celebrity, Health, US News, Mental Health
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
Christina Applegate has clarified comments she made about living with MS after fans became concerned for her mental health.
Fans became worried for the Dead to Me star after she admitted earlier this month that she ‘doesn’t enjoy living’ amid her battle with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
The 52-year-old revealed in 2021 that she had been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, which has since left her with mobility issues and caused her to hit headlines last year when she brought a cane to the SAG awards - branded with the letters 'FU MS'.
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Applegate made the candid confessions about her struggle on her podcast MeSsy, which she hosts with fellow survivor and Sopranos star, Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
In the episode, she admitted that the depression she has experienced due to the disease has left her 'kinda just giving up'.
Applegate shared: "This is being really honest: I don't enjoy living. I don't enjoy it.
"I don't enjoy things anymore. You know, if someone can come over and lay in bed with me and talk, like you have… that's enjoyable, I enjoy that. But if someone’s like, 'Let’s get up and go for a walk' or 'Let's go get a coffee,' I don’t enjoy that process."
She continued, saying: "I'm so, like, 'Well, this is just it. I'm just gonna lay in bed and sleep all the time.' And then when my daughter needs me, I'll be there for her, and I'll do everything for her, and push, and do anything I possibly can for her. And then I'll turn the lights off and go back to sleep. It's a bummer."
These comments caused some to show concern for the Anchorman actress, leading her to choose the most recent episode of the podcast to clear things up.
She said: "I was talking about some dark stuff that I was thinking and feeling.
"I feel like when we hold things in we give them power. I also think that there's so much shame a lot of people feel when they're going through mental health issues... and when people holds those in, because they're so afraid to say how they truly feel, we give it immense power."
The award-winning actor finished up, adding: "By making such a big deal about it you're making other people think, 'Oh, s---, I can't talk about this.' And that is not OK with me.
"It's important to be able to say these things. And, no, I'm not sitting here on suicide watch, OK? I am not. Nor have I ever been."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
