Captain America star Chris Evans opens up about his battle with anxiety
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Captain America star Chris Evans has opened up about this battle with anxiety.
The actor highlighted how starring in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has helped him in a new interview with MTV News.
"So over 10 years of making these movies, and being forced to do big-stage sort of things, you realise that a lot of the fears you had never really do come to fruition," he said.
"And look even if they do, I've had some things that haven't always gone the way I wanted to, when you choose to not dwell on them, to look for them, to read or absorb them, they do disappear."
Related: Evans talks possiblity of Fantastic Four return
He continued: "So, in a weird way, it's [Marvel] been my classroom. You know this acting landscape has kind of forced you to home some ability in terms of stilling your mind. And in turn you realise that a lot of the fear that breeds anxiety, never really happens, and it's your own making."
"Like most of our anxiety in life, it's about these fears about what will happen," said Evans. "You know, when you're able to still your mind, and be present in your body, those fears melt away."
He added: "Anxiety in general is predicted on living outside of the moment, you know, analysing the past and worrying about the future."
Related: Evans says Lightyear was as daunting as Cap role
Evans also shared a powerful metaphor as to how to see your anxiety, which will no doubt go a long way to helping people.
"If you took a glass of water and you put a handful of salt in it, and took a sip, it would taste terrible, but if you took that same handful of salt and in a lake and sip the lake, you wouldn't taste the salt at all.
"The salt is your pain, your fear, your sadness. Be the lake, you know what I mean? Depending upon how you're looking at the world if you make your world small, your pain can feel loud and big. But it you recognize that you are timeless, and that your thoughts are not you, and that you're bigger than all of it, the pain melts away."
If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, organisations who can offer support include Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org) or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to visit mentalhealth.gov.
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