Christina Applegate says MS has left her with little will to survive: ‘I don’t enjoy living’

“I’m in a depression right now, which I don’t think I’ve felt that for years. Like a real, fuck-it-all depression where it’s kind of scaring me too, a little bit, because it feels really fatalistic,” Applegate told her co-host Sigler. “I’m trapped in this darkness right now that I haven’t felt like in I don’t even know how long, probably 20-something years.”

Multiple sclerosis, also known as MS, is a chronic neurological disease that causes varying symptoms that affect vision, speech, and mobility. It can also cause mental or physical fatigue, mood changes, as well as cognitive dysfunction.

Applegate first found out she had multiple sclerosis while she was filming the Netflix show “Dead To Me.“

The actor shared that it was difficult — both physically and mentally — for her to get up and do things every day like she used to because of the pain.

“If I stand up in the morning and my feet hurt too much, I’m like, ‘Well, guess it’s going to be a day of me in bed.’ And I know that if I just walk around a little bit they’re going to feel better, but I give up so easily,” she said.

Not being able to do things freely because of her condition takes the joy out of life for her, Applegate added.

“This is being really honest. I don’t enjoy living. I don’t enjoy it. I don’t enjoy things anymore,” she said.

Applegate also admitted that she didn’t seek out therapy until recently because she didn’t want to deal with her emotions.

“I have avoided therapy since I’ve been diagnosed because I’m so afraid to start crying and that I’m not going to be able to end crying,” she said.

During the podcast, Sigler — who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 20 — also encouraged and reassured Applegate that she wasn’t alone on her journey.

“It’s so hard to live in a disabled body. It is so hard. I will not take that away from you, and I am right there with you,” Sigler told Applegate. “To me, it’s not a reason enough for you to stop living because I sit here across from you, and you still make me laugh like nobody else can.”

This isn’t the first time that Applegate has been open about the difficulties she’s faced while living with multiple sclerosis.

In 2022, she spoke to The New York Times about how her body has changed since her diagnosis.

“I put on 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I am very aware of all of that,” she said.

In March, during an interview with People alongside Sigler, Applegate shared that she’s been hospitalized “many times” for her symptoms.

“They don’t know what’s wrong, but we’re pretty sure my stomach and my intestines are not very good friends. It causes me intense pain and vomiting,” she said. “It’s just a body that doesn’t feel right. And I’ve lost 30-something. People are like, ‘What have you been doing?’ And I’m like, ‘Vomiting.’ Not Ozempic. Barfing.”

There are nearly a million people who are living with multiple sclerosis in the US. The condition is more common among females, and most people are diagnosed when they’re between 20 and 50 years old.

A representative for Applegate did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.