Ryan Reynolds' three daughters inspired him to talk about his mental health

Ryan Reynolds' three daughters were his inspiration to talk about his struggles with mental health.

The 'Deadpool' actor recently got candid about his "lifelong" struggles with anxiety in a candid Instagram post in honour of Mental Health Awareness Month. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight recently, the actor revealed that his three daughters -- James, 6, Inez, 4, and Betty, 1 -- who he shares with his wife and actor Blake Lively, inspired him to talk publicly about his mental health.

"Part of it is that I have three daughters at home and part of my job as a parent is to model behaviors and model what it's like to be sad and model what it's like to be anxious, or angry. That there's space for all these things," said Reynolds.

"The home that I grew in, that wasn't modelled for me really. And that's not to say that my parents were neglectful, but they come from a different generation. "Part of that is to destigmatize things and create a conversation around [mental health]," he added.

"I know that when I felt at the absolute bottom, it's usually been because I felt like I was alone in something I was feeling. So I think when people talk about it, I don't necessarily dwell on it or lament on it, but I think it's important to talk about it. And when you talk about it, it kind of sets other people free." Ryan said. 

He also added, if he spoke out, he hoped it might help others as well. "Other people feel like, 'Oh, he's feeling that and so am I.' And even though we might be in two completely different fields or we might have two completely different lives, it connects us in a way," he noted. "A lot of it is just wanting to model certain things for my own kids and model things for anyone who might need to hear it."

In his post for Mental Health Awareness Month, the actor opened up on his lifelong battle with anxiety. Addressing his fight with anxiety on Instagram, Ryan posted, “One of the reasons I overschedule myself is my lifelong pal, anxiety. I know I'm not alone and more importantly, to all those like me who overschedule, overthink, overwork, over-worry and over-everything, please know you're not alone. We don't talk enough about mental health and don't do enough to destigmatize talking about it."

"But, as with this post, better late than never, I hope..." his post reads.