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Kristen Bell opens up about her long-term struggle with depression

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Ever since she was a young girl, Kristen Bell has suffered from anxiety and depression. The Frozen star has admitted that it runs in her family and that her grandmother and her mother, a nurse, have also experienced it.

During an interview with Sam Jones on Off Camera, Kristen, 35, explained her need for people to like her. "I'm extremely co-dependent," said the actress. "I shatter a little bit when I think people don't like me."

She explained: "That's part of why I lead with kindness and I compensate by being very bubbly all the time because it really hurts my feelings when I know I'm not liked. And I know that's not very healthy and I fight it all the time."

kristen bell1 © Photo: Getty Images

"I shatter a little bit when I think people don't like me," said Kristen

She gained medical advice and help from her mum as a teenager.

Kristen revealed: "When I was 18 she 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 paralysed with fear, this is what it is and here's how you can help yourself."

The Veronica Mars star, who has two children with her husband Dax Shephard, added that there is no shame in asking for help – despite the stigma that is still attached to mental health problems.

kristen bell2 © Photo: Getty Images

The actress has two children with her husband Dax Shepard

"I have no shame in that because my mum had said to me, 'If you start to feel this way, talk to your doctor, talk to a psychologist, see how you want to help yourself," said Kristen.

"She said, 'If you do decide to go on a prescription to help yourself, understand that the world wants to shame you for that, but in the medical community, you would never deny a diabetic his insulin. Ever.

"But for some reason, when someone needs a serotonin inhibitor, they're immediately crazy or something."