Dakota Johnson Shares the Way Her Boyfriend Chris Martin Knew when she is depressed
Dakota Johnson opens up about her struggle with depression and how her boyfriend, Chris Martin, once noticed she was going through a tough time when she didn’t even know it herself.
The 34-year-old actress spoke about that moment during a speech at the Hope for Depression Research Foundation’s 2023 annual luncheon in New York City earlier this month.
“A few weeks ago, I was having a bad day and my partner said to me, ‘Are you really struggling?’ And I said, ‘No?’ And he said, ‘Honey, you’re wearing a Cats t-shirt.’ Like in the musical Cats. It turns out I was really struggling. But at that moment, he picked me up and got me out of there,” she said.
“When I found out that the Foundation was interested in giving me this promotion award, I found it extremely stressful. At first, I was like, ‘Wait, how do you know I’m depressed?’ What am I going to talk about? Then they sent me all these bits from 2015, so it turns out I’m a lawyer. If saying one small, hopeful thing, or maybe something relatable, can help someone else feel a little better or a little less alone with their experience, then I’m a very willing advocate.
She added, “I think most of the time, as you can probably tell, I talk about depression or anxiety in a very self-deprecating way. Maybe sometimes I find it easier to look him in the eye if I mask it with comedy. Masking my pain or anxiety with comedy has become a lifelong tool, and I don’t think it’s bad; it works and it helps me. Because, sometimes, if I don’t laugh, I cry. “The most important thing I’ve learned about depression is to learn to overcome it; there’s really no immediate answer; there’s really no immediate end to it.”