Ryan Reynolds is one of the busiest stars in Hollywood, and it’s not just because he needs to keep Blake Lively in gorgeous red carpet outfits!
On Wednesday, the Deadpool star took to Instagram to share a candid message in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, in which he revealed that his “life-long” battle with anxiety is a big reason why he over-schedules himself.
The 44-year-old wrote in a heartfelt post:
“May is almost over. It’s also Mental Health Awareness Month. Which brings me to this… 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.”
He definitely overschedules. Not only does Ryan have three movies on the way this year, he’s working on co-writing the next Deadpool, he co-owns and does the ads for Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile and just bought a Welsh football club with It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney.
The father-of-three went on to note that he’s just one of the many people who sufferers from this condition, adding:
“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. We don’t talk enough about mental health and don’t do enough to destigmatize talking about it. But, as with this post, better late than never, I hope…”
We do too! Many celebs have been open about their mental health struggles, but it’s important for people to know that those disorders express themselves in more subtle ways, too.
Related: Ryan Shares Hilarious Solution To Daughter’s Baby Shark Obsession!
Naturally, the post was flooded with appreciative comments — including one from Hugh Jackman, who had some very kind words for his famous frenemy. The Logan star wrote:
“Mate — your honesty is not only brave but I’m positive will help countless others who struggle with anxiety, too. Good on you!”
Ryan previously opened up about his anxiety in 2018, telling The New York Times he’s “always” dealt with it. He shared:
“I have anxiety, I’ve always had anxiety. 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.”
The star confessed that he’s “racked by dread and nausea” before going on talk shows, and liked to “warm up the audience” as a way of controlling his nerves back in the early days of his career. He mused:
“When the curtain opens, I turn on this knucklehead, and he kind of takes over and goes away again once I walk off set. That’s a great self-defense mechanism. I figure if you’re going to jump off a cliff, you might as well fly.”
He also told the publication he experienced anxiety before 2016’s Deadpool started shooting, as he would stay up late coming up with new jokes to add into the script. He said:
“I never, ever slept. Or I was sleeping at a perfect right angle — just sitting straight, constantly working at the same time.”
Thankfully, Reynolds’ wife “helped [him] through that.” He said of Lively:
“I’m lucky to have her around just to keep me sane.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 13 people suffer from anxiety worldwide, with these types of disorders being the most common mental disorders.
It’s crazy to think people like Ryan cope by overworking themselves, but we’re glad he’s being so honest about it! Read his full post (below).
[Image via WENN/Instar/Ryan Reynolds/20th Century Fox/YouTube]
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