Ryan Reynolds was inspired by his three daughters to speak openly about his mental health struggles

He’s a leading actor with a host of films on his resume.

And Ryan Reynolds admitted he was inspired by his three daughters to speak openly about his own mental health struggles last month.

The 44-year-old actor took to Instagram in May to mark Mental Health Awareness month and discussed his own battle with anxiety in efforts to destigmatize the disorder and also help people feel more comfortable with their own diagnosis. 

‘Part of it is that I have three daughters at home and part of my job as a parent is to model behaviors and model what it’s like to be sad and model what it’s like to be anxious, or angry,’ he said. 

‘That there’s space for all these things. The home that I grew in, that wasn’t modeled for me really. And that’s not to say that my parents were neglectful, but they come from a different generation.’

Reynolds has three children with wife Blake Lively – James, six, Inez, four, and Betty, 19 months.

He told Entertainment Tonight: ‘Part of that is to de-stigmatize things and create a conversation around [mental health]. I know that when I felt at the absolute bottom it’s usually been because I felt like I was alone in something I was feeling. 

‘So I think when people talk about it, I don’t necessarily dwell on it or lament on it, but I think it’s important to talk about it. And when you talk about it, it kind of sets other people free.’ 

The Deadpool star hopes by speaking out about his own experiences, he can help others in the same position. 

‘Other people feel like, “Oh, he’s feeling that and so am I.” And even though we might be in two completely different fields or we might have two completely different lives, it connects us in a way,’ he said. 

‘A lot of it is just wanting to model certain things for my own kids and model things for anyone who might need to hear it.’   

Ryan announced in an Instagram post to his 37million followers at the end of the month that he struggles with anxiety. 

‘One of the reasons I’m posting this so late is I over schedule myself and important things slip. And one of the reasons I over schedule myself is my lifelong pal, anxiety,’ he shared.

‘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…’