Mayim Bialik says being quarantined has been a challenge for her mental health.
The former “Big Bang Theory” star, who’s been open about her own issues with mental health, told Kelly Clarkson on Thursday’s episode of her talk show that being home has not been easy.
“It’s definitely been a roller coaster and I’ve been very open and vocal about growing up with mental health challenges and that’s a continuing issue for many of us who struggle,” she said.
“Also, the notion it’s OK to not be OK. That’s some of the messaging NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, tries to really spread the word about. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. It’s been incredibly taxing for many of us, especially those of us who struggled before. I’m an introvert by nature, which means I don’t mind being on my own and not really going out a lot.”
The former "Blossom" star, 44, says she has noticed changes in her own behavior over the past few months.
“It can feel really isolating. My temper’s been short. My sleep’s been weird. I started getting heartburn again. Just, like, all the stress things. But those are all stress things for my body,” she said.
“Even my lady cycle has felt more emotional during the quarantine,” she added. “Everything is heightened. My mom has a pinched nerve in her back. We’re all stressed. We’re living in masks. We don’t know what tomorrow brings.
Bialik also said the daily uncertainty in our lives can feel like it's just too much.
"The news is insane. The country’s falling apart, it feels like. It’s very stressful, even for someone who has zero history with mental health stuff. And for those of us who do have OCD, there’s plenty of things to have new obsessions and compulsions about. I promise,” she said, laughing.
Clarkson, who told Demi Lovato on her show last month that she suffers from depression, echoed Bialik’s sentiment that being locked up has not been good for her.
“I have suffered from depression and it’s one of those things where I don’t do well,” she said.
“And I’m an extrovert, so this not seeing humans and not interacting, I really feed off of people’s energy and I love the people that I’ve chosen to surround myself with in my life, so, yeah, I definitely missed even like my glam squad, you know?” noting she doesn’t miss the work of getting into her makeup, but she does miss talking to others.
So, how is Bialik, a divorced mom of two boys, 14 and 11, passing time in quarantine? Well, she says she’s tried to bond with her older son by learning TikTok.
“One of the things that I’ve been trying to do is find any way to engage with them or connect with them," she said.
"My older son, who’s 14, has gotten into, I mean he’s always on his phone, usually he’s always scrolling through TikTok, which I didn’t even know what it was. So, I have a YouTube channel and so we did a video that we posted on YouTube of me basically saying to my kid, ‘What is TikTok? How do I do it?’”