Dakota Johnson has revealed the sweet way in which her boyfriend Chris Martin has helped to pull her out of a depressive state when she is having a ‘low day’.
The Fifty Shades of Grey actress, 34, spoke candidly about her mental health struggles as she was honored for her depression advocacy work at the 17th Annual HOPE Luncheon Seminar on Tuesday.
Dakota, who has suffered with depression since she was 15, revealed her coping mechanism is to use humor to ‘deflect’ – as she recalled one telltale sign Coldplay front man Chris, 46, knows to look out for.
‘A few weeks ago I was having a low day,’ she began. ‘My partner said to me so kindly, “Are you really struggling?”. I said, “No”.
‘He said, “Baby, you’re wearing a Cats T-shirt”. Like Cats, the musical. It turns out I was really struggling.’
She continued: ‘But that moment lifted my heart, and it pulled me out of it.’
Dakota, who has been dating the British singer since 2017, continued: ‘I think most of the time I speak about depression or anxiety in a very self deprecating way. Perhaps it is easier to look it in the eyes if I wear the mask of comedy.
‘Covering my pain or anxiety in comedy is 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’ll cry.’
Elsewhere in the speech, Dakota explained: ‘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.’
She went on to credit her parents, Hollywood stars Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, for introducing her to the world of therapy at a young age amid their public divorce in 1996 – when Dakota was just seven years old.
‘I had my first experience with therapy in my early childhood,’ the Persuasion star said. ‘My parents, who are quite famous, they divorced when I was young. They were wise in understanding that may be an outsider could help me with some of the complexities of my family life.’
Dakota also shared some of the tools she has used to help manage her depression and anxiety, in the hopes that it might help others.
She started by practicing ‘transcendental meditation’ on a daily basis which she described as a key tool for her mental wellbeing.
