Sarah Silverman has revealed that as a teenager she dealt with depression and to help her get through she was prescribed Xanax, taking up to 16 daily.
“I was put on Xanax at 13,” the 48-year-old comedian shared in a new documentary called “Laughing Matters: The Funny Business of Being Sad,” according to Page Six in a piece published Thursday. The comments start at the 6:40 mark. (RELATED: Sarah Silverman Says She Sometimes Wanted To See Louis C.K. Masturbate After He Asked)
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“They just upped the dose and upped the dose and upped the dose until I was taking four Xanax four times a day,” she added. (RELATED: Sarah Silverman Says She’s Now ‘Horrified’ By 2007 Blackface Sketch)
Silverman went on to explain that the “psychiatrist who originally put” her on the medication ended up hanging himself. “I mean, I can’t just skate by that — it’s crazy.”
The “School of Rock” star is just one of a dozen comedians like Wayne Brady, Chris Gethard, Neil Brennan who opened up about their own struggles with things like depression and anxiety for the film.
According to the description released on YouTube:
Developed in partnership with Funny Or Die, Laughing Matters, is a 30-minute documentary that brings comedians together for an honest look and real conversations about comedy + mental health because when the cost of bringing others joy is your own joy…the cost is too high.
At one point in the piece, “Saturday Night Live” star said that “it’s not just comedians” who are at risk.
“Humor is how we all survive,” Silverman explained. “It’s not just comedians. But I think a lot of people find humor in the darkest places.”
The Comedy Central star shared that after she was prescribed Klonopin, a drug used to treat seizures and anxiety, it ended up saving “her life.”
“These years of torture and shame kind of became my superpower,” the actress shared. “There’s nothing more important to me than being funny — except being well.”