{"id":834057,"date":"2026-11-14T05:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T05:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/834057\/"},"modified":"2026-11-14T05:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T05:14:09","slug":"goldie-hawn-says-this-simple-happiness-habit-helps-keep-her-depression-at-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/834057\/","title":{"rendered":"Goldie Hawn says this simple happiness habit helps keep her depression at bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actress Goldie Hawn<\/a>, 80, is passionate about mental health and has been open about her own struggles with depression<\/a> and anxiety<\/a> for decades.<\/p>\n

Hawn\u2019s mental health challenges began in her 20s when she was new to fame. She sought help and has continued to encourage others to do so by openly sharing her story. In 2003, she founded MindUP<\/a>, a preventive mental health program to support students, educators, and their families. <\/p>\n

In a recent interview on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Hawn shared an easy trick she often uses to boost her happiness.<\/p>\n

Goldie Hawn\u2019s happiness trick<\/p>\n

Hawn also shared her happiness trick in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI smile at everybody,\u201d she told the publication. \u201cI\u2019m on the street and I have a smile on my face. And you do receive back because people actually return that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She went on to explain that acknowledging others and connecting with them is more than \u201can act of kindness\u2014it\u2019s a state of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

One place where she looks to acknowledge people is the elevator in her apartment.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in an elevator: \u2018How are you today?\u2019 \u2018Oh, I\u2019m feeling pretty good.\u2019 \u2018Oh, that\u2019s good. I\u2019m happy to hear that,\u2019\u201d she told PEOPLE. \u201cI do that when I\u2019m in New York in my elevator in the apartment. And people are so sweet. And then when they get in the elevator again, \u2018Oh, I got to see you again!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In another interview on Khloe Kardashian\u2019s podcast, Khloe in Wonderland<\/a>, Hawn added that making herself smile is an instant happiness booster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are sad, but you make yourself smile\u2014I don\u2019t know, sometimes I walk down the street, and I kind of have a half-smile on my face\u2014it changes your brain completely,\u201d she explained. \u201cYour brain thinks you\u2019re happier\u2026it shows you how connected our body is [to] our brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldie Hawn\u2019s depression battle<\/p>\n

During a 2021 interview with Good Morning Britain<\/a>, Hawn explained more about her struggles with depression and anxiety.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was young, I became depressed. I was 21, and I was rising to success,\u201d she said. \u201cI was very depressed, and I had a lot of these issues where I couldn\u2019t even go outside in public.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a 2024 interview<\/a> on\u00a0the Making Space with Hoda Kotb podcast, she added that her anxiety also came with panic attacks after she landed a role on her first television sitcom called Good Morning World in 1967.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said they wrote a part in for me, and I called home and I said, \u2018Mom, you\u2019re not going to believe this,\u2019\u201d Hawn shared. \u201cAnd then I became anxious, and I had little panic attacks, and then I realized that every time I\u2019d go into a restaurant or a place, I\u2019d get dizzy, and I would want to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although she had never struggled with happiness before (she noted that her childhood was \u201cjoyful\u201d), things changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what happened to my joy. I mean, I lost my\u2014I tried to fake my smile. I\u2019ll never forget that. It\u2019s the scariest thing that has ever happened to me,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

How Hawn treated her depression and anxiety<\/p>\n

To help her cope, Hawn sought professional help from a psychologist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to a doctor, and I spent nine years with him,\u201d she noted on Making Space with Hoda Kotb. \u201cWhy? Because I was learning about myself. I was learning about how to forgive, and I was learning, as I grew extremely successful, how to be able to manage other people\u2019s perception of me because they didn\u2019t know me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hawn continues to make it her mission to be honest about her own mental health struggles to help others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t live in the dark and wonder what\u2019s going on with me. We have to know that people do experience this,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s really important to acknowledge it. Because only until you acknowledge it can you fix it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n