In July, Lake Bell visited her Bless This Mess costar Dax Shepard’s podcast, Armchair Expert. She talked about the homebirths of her two children, Nova, four, and Ozgood, two. Both of her children were born with the umbilical cord wrapped around their necks and they weren’t breathing. In Nova’s case, it took three lifesaving breaths from the midwife to help her start breathing on her own, while it took more time for Ozgood to start breathing. He spent 11 days in the NICU, but recovered well and is thriving now. Lake mentioned to Dax that she took antidepressants for a year-and-a-half after his birth. In a new episode of Amanda de Cadenet’s podcast, The Conversation, Lake talked more about living with depression after her son’s birth:
Sharing her truth. Lake Bell opened got real about the depression she suffered after her son Ozgood’s 2017 home birth.
“My heart aches for those who feel that through the hardship of their life every day, like, I have felt it,” the actress, 40, admitted on the Wednesday, September 11, episode of “The Conversation With Amanda de Cadenet” podcast. “I know what it is and it’s a monster. It’s a demon.”
The Bless This Mess star even began taking medication despite her “holistic … kumbaya, new age” views against it. “I was like, ‘I need something, I can’t be a person,” she explained. “I don’t know how to be. I had a little daughter too so I was like, ‘I gotta be a person and I don’t know how to find that!’”
Bell was prescribed a low [dose] of Zoloft — and she felt a difference. “It took me to a place where I could be. I could just be,” she told Amanda de Cadenet, 47, on Wednesday. “It was rational. I needed to just be Lake and I felt, finally like, I could breathe the air that Lake breath[e]s, not like some other person that I don’t recognize.”
I am so glad that both Ozgood and Nova are doing well now. I can’t imagine how harrowing that experience was for Lake and her husband, Scott. I’m also happy to hear that when Lake reached a point that she thought medication might help her feel more like herself, more balanced, and able to function, she saw a doctor. She could have very easily continued to put that off. The “baby blues” are common after giving birth, and postpartum depression is a concern, too. In Lake’s circumstances, of course, the minutes after her son’s birth were terrifying, so I’m not surprised to learn that she realized that her mental wellbeing was affected. According to a survey reported in Motherly, more than half of new moms aren’t getting the mental health support they need.
It’s so important to talk about depression and other mental health conditions, period, and I’m glad that Lake is sharing her very personal experiences of depression after giving birth to help normalize that conversation (even as everyone’s journey toward well being is different). I also like thinking about Lake’s comments alongside those of Lizzo and Dove Cameron‘s about living with depression, and Ashley Graham and Porsha William‘s stories and photos both pre- and post-giving birth. That is, collectively, all of their honest stories (and those of others) can help us have better, smarter and more compassionate conversations around health and wellness.
Photos credit: WENN and via Instagram
I’m happy she came out and told us she took an anti-depressant. It took me 10 years to realize I could not deal with my anxiety unaided. It took me a while to sort out which kind and what dose, but as of right now, it is working for me. I experience situations all the time where I notice that in the past I would’ve either gotten very anxious or gone to a dark place. I’m grateful for meds. I also see a counselor 1 – 2x/ mo.
I agree with everything written in this post and I am glad there is more attention on this very real, very serious problem of postpartum depression.
She also took a huge risk deciding to have a SECOND home birth.
yeah, that’s legit crazy
I feel for her. I been battling severe anxiety the past month and it’s been hell. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism 6 weeks ago and my doc attributes the anxiety to my condition but it’s been a crazy roller coaster. I have end up in the ER like 6 times and continuously have panic attacks. I was put on anti anxiety meds , low dose but the meds itself give me anxiety due to their addictive nature. So overall I can barely function, quit my job ( couldn’t be on the train or crowded place). I am terrified this will be my new “normal”. I went from a high energy , functional design director to unemployed and and barely leaving the house individual on a short time. Have a therapist and she is terrible so looking for a new one . Mental health issues is a struggle and I feel for anyone going through it now.
Good on you for seeking out a better therapist! You deserve good help. I am so proud of you for knowing that you deserve better and actively seeking that out. And if you don’t receive the kind of care that you need and deserve with the next therapist, please have the courage to keep looking until you find that help. I have experienced depression and anxiety in the past and my first therapist was awful. I felt such self doubt taking steps to see a different therapist, but the one I found was fantastic and helped me so much. I hope you have a similar positive experience. I’m so sorry for what you’re going through and I wish you the best as you cope and recover your confident self.
Thank you so much @ Diana… it’s been a struggle. In these moments of vulnerability I am finding out that in retrospect I should have seek help prior. I held on to my crappy therapist instead of just walking out and looking for a better one specially now that I feel so vulnerable and raw. My therapist continues to complain about her back issues and cuts my therapy sessions early without notice… needless to say that sends me into a dark place and frustrates me but in a effort not to “appear crazy” I tolerated it. Thank you again and I’m so happy that you were able to find a good therapist … I hope I do so soon as well.
@CG. What?! That behavior from a therapist is horrible. Unethical and unprofessional. I hope you find a better one, they are out there!
I totally sympathise with you, as I too have hyperthyroidism (Graves). Severe anxiety was one of my many symptoms but was also the main one that led me to the diagnosis of Graves’ Disease. I’d also have panic attacks on the train. I couldn’t walk down the street without ear phones (it was a strange comfort to me), and I became fearful driving my car. Hang in there, because with a good endocrinologist and the right treatment, the anxiety will subside. Hugs.
Thank you for your kind words! Same here , my hyperthyroidism is due to my graves …. it’s been so hard. Finally have a fantastic endocrinologist and he is confident I will get better. The road has simply been so hard and don’t feel like myself. Thank you for sharing your condition and giving me hope that the anxiety will pass.
I’ve been on anti-depressants for years. I fought it for a long time because I didn’t want to be “that person” who needed medication to function as a normal person. I have a therapist and she helped me to see it was necessary not a weakness on my part (thoughts I put into my own head). I’ve now accepted that like diabetics and others, I need daily medication.
I have to say it was down right stupid of her to attempt a second home birth. Home births in general are a bad idea. In the States anyway. Too many woman still die in childbirth and too much can go wrong. I blows my mind that people will risk their lives and the lives of their children for a ‘homey’ experience. Just stupid.
mothers who choose home births for their own special experience are narcissists.
Being in hospital is horrible. You give up your autonomy when they put that wrist band on you.
I’ve never given birth (HOORAY!!!) but it’s bad enough going through a “routine” hospitalization. There are many reasons why women would want to give birth at home. For starters, someone don’t wake you up every four hours to stick you with a needle and take your pulse!
There can be a balance – there can he healthy choices, “natural” remedies, AND medication. I hate that too many people are wholly anti-drugs or wholly anti-natural medicine. A good therapist will start a patient with a low does medication and will change that medication if it’s not working. A good therapist will also know that medication alone is not enough. There are so many medications available now, and medicine has advanced a lot in determining which medications might work for each individual.
So I’m glad that Lake Bell got over her aversion to medication and did what was necessary for her to get back to herself. And I’m glad she can share that so that others know it’s a possible path for them.
The second (or frankly, first) home birth, on the other hand, I truly don’t understand. I feel like the choice is between my comfort/desire for a certain type of birth and the availability of life-saving doctors and equipment for my infant, I’m going to pick the latter. I had an emergency c-section and I remember my mantra of “save the baby, save the baby” as they sliced and diced to do just that. In that moment, you really just care about that baby surviving. No statistics are kept on the safety of home births. I get that there are advantages to being at home (and disadvantages to being in the hospital), not everyone has access to a decent hospital close by, and most home births work out swimmingly, but the ones that don’t . . . I can’t imagine.
there’s a lot of pressure in the L.A. scene to be as stupid as possible about birth
I’m so surprised about all the negative comments about home births. In the Uk they are actively encouraged. Midwives are the experts on birthing and know how to deal with issues like a cord being wrapped around a baby’s neck. I had both my baby’s in a midwifery led unit which doesn’t have a theatre or doctors. Pretty much standard in the Uk. If i hadn’t had preexisting risk factors outside of my control id have had a home birth with both of my babies like most of my friends and family have had.
In the US, a lot of home births are not attended by certified nurse midwives, but by practical midwives, who are not certified nurses. A lot don’t know what to do when an emergency happens, and impede transfers to hospitals. Plus, the truth is that a lot of emergencies in birth happen at the last minute, and transferring to the hospital delays treatment. Even in places with CNMs, home birth is less safe than hospital birth, especially for high risk pregnancies.
Home births terrify me. I’m trying not to judge, but I do feel there was a selfishness, borederline irresponsibility, in her decision to do a second home birth after issues with her first. In the US the medical system, especially for women’s health is broken. There aren’t enough doctors & nurses and there isn’t enough attention paid to women’s health. Midwives and specialty OB nurses definitely help fill this void. The thing is in the US many home births aren’t safe and they aren’t the normal, bc many of them aren’t attended by people with appropriate training. A home birth here isn’t like what it is in the UK. Birthing centers are a nice medium ground, if you’re having a normal pregnancy. I am high risk, but even if I wasn’t there’s no way in hell I’d give birth anywhere but a hospital. Yes, you give up privacy, but you also get treatment from doctors who’ve gone to school for years and typically compassionate nurses. Labor and delivery wards have seen some big improvements over the years, majority are “family friendly”.