--- title: Ryan Reynolds Opens Up About Lifelong Battle With Anxiety description: Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds is getting real about the feelings of nervousness and fear that have plagued him throughout his life. canonical: https://time.com/5264413/ryan-reynolds-anxiety/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-05-03T14:42:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:52:36.794Z og:title: Ryan Reynolds Opens Up About Lifelong Battle With Anxiety og:description: "I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum" og:url: https://time.com/5264413/ryan-reynolds-anxiety/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dadc6637fc488e9/69892f6ffb4eac185b896858/ryan-reynolds-anxiety.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 'Deadpool 2' Press Conference In Seoul og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ryan Reynolds Opens Up About Lifelong Battle With Anxiety twitter:description: "I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dadc6637fc488e9/69892f6ffb4eac185b896858/ryan-reynolds-anxiety.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ryan Reynolds Discusses His Lifelong Battle With Anxiety  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer May 3, 2018 2:42 PM UTC  Ryan Reynolds attends the press conference for Seoul premiere of 'Deadpool 2' on May 2, 2018 in Seoul, South Korea. Ryan Reynolds attends the press conference for Seoul premiere of 'Deadpool 2' on May 2, 2018 in Seoul, South Korea.Han Myung-Gu/WireImage  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer May 3, 2018 2:42 PM UTC [Ryan Reynolds](http://time.com/5259597/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-rejection-letter-avengers/) is getting real about his struggle with [anxiety](http://time.com/5211530/aparna-nancherla-comedy-anxiety/). In an interview with the [_New York Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/movies/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-2.html) that was published on Wednesday, the _Deadpool_ star opened up about the feelings of nervousness and fear that have plagued him throughout his life. “I have anxiety, I’ve always had anxiety,” he explained, noting that he still feels like he’s about to throw up before every talk-show appearance. “Both in the lighthearted ‘I’m anxious about this’ kind of thing, and I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun.” This isn’t the first time [Reynolds has spoken out](http://time.com/4621986/ryan-reynolds-blake-lively-deadpool-anxiety/) about his ongoing mental battle with anxiety. In a 2017 interview with [_Variety_](http://variety.com/2017/film/features/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-golden-globes-1201951103/), the 41-year-old actor revealed that it was his wife, Blake Lively, who helped him deal with the stress of working on the first _Deadpool_ movie. “Blake helped me through that,” he said. “I’m lucky to have her around just to keep me sane.” _Deadpool 2_ hits theaters May 18. 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