Christina Applegate clarifies remarks about mental health amid MS battle

Christina Applegate dismisses rumors of being on ‘suicide watch.’

Christina Applegate has recently addressed comments she made regarding her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS), which had raised concerns among her fans. The 52-year-old actress clarified her statements during an episode of her “MeSsy” podcast released on June 18, 2024.

Earlier this month, Applegate released an episode of her podcast recorded at the beginning of 2024, in which she expressed her struggles with her MS diagnosis. “I don’t enjoy living,” she admitted. “I don’t enjoy things anymore. If someone’s like, ‘Let’s get up and go for a walk.’ Or, ‘Let’s go get a coffee,’ I’m like, ‘I don’t enjoy that process.’”

During the June 18 episode, Applegate elaborated on her earlier remarks, addressing her mental health challenges. “I was talking about some dark stuff that I was thinking and feeling,” she said to her co-host, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also has MS. She emphasized the importance of expressing these thoughts to avoid giving them undue power. “I feel like when we hold things in, we give them power,” she continued. “There’s so much shame a lot of people feel when they’re going through mental health issues. It’s a moment. It’s a thought. It’s a feeling. And when people hold those in, because they’re so afraid to say how they truly feel, we give it immense power.”

Applegate stressed that discussing her mental health struggles is crucial. “I think that it’s incredibly healing and important to be able to express the thoughts, whether that makes someone uncomfortable or not,” she said. She reiterated that she is not on “suicide watch,” countering any misconceptions. “I am not. Nor have I ever been,” she stated firmly. However, she acknowledged the challenges of living with a chronic illness. “F–k with the dark thoughts coming through my head sometimes when you’re dealing with something that has taken a huge part of you away,” she said. “No, you have moments of feeling like this is tiring and I don’t wanna do this, but you do it. And by saying this s–t out loud, it releases the pressure in the balloon.”

Applegate's clarifications came after her surprise appearance at the Emmy Awards in January, where she received a standing ovation. She later revealed in a “Good Morning America” interview that she barely remembers the event. “I kind of blacked out,” she said. “People said, ‘Oh, you were so funny,’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t even know what I said. I don’t know what I was doing.’ I got so freaked out that I didn’t even know what was happening anymore. And I felt really beloved, and it was a beautiful thing.”