Anna Faris, 49, Links Sobriety to Depression and Reframes Her Career

Q: How did a secret struggle with self-sabotage push Anna Faris to abruptly abandon her biggest TV role?

Anna Faris has indicated that her abrupt exit from “Mom” grew out of a private cycle of drinking, depression and self-sabotage that left her struggling to stay focused during the show’s intense final stretch. In her Aug. 20 appearance on Chelsea Handler’s “Dear Chelsea” podcast, Faris said sobriety helped her recognize “a correlation between drinking and depression” in her own life and realize she “had to take a step back to not self-sabotage.” She did not directly tie that remark to “Mom” in the interview, but it adds important context to what she said earlier about leaving the CBS sitcom. On the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in June, Faris described the end of her seven-year run on “Mom” as “a complicated time.” She said the “intensity” near the end made her “start to lose my focus,” suggesting the pressure of a long-running network series had become difficult to manage. She also noted that, aside from waitressing, she had never held a job for more than three months before, making the seven-season commitment unusually demanding for her. Taken together, Faris’ recent comments suggest that what looked from the outside like a sudden career move was shaped by an internal struggle she was only beginning to understand. Sobriety, she now says, gave her clarity about the patterns that may have contributed to stepping away from the biggest TV role of her career one season before “Mom” ended.

Q: What surprising medical treatment helped this iconic comedy star conquer depression after a highly public divorce?

The treatment Faris singled out was hormone patches, which she said “made a huge difference” in her mental health. Speaking on Chelsea Handler’s “Dear Chelsea” podcast, Anna Faris said sobriety helped her recognize a clear link between alcohol use and depression in her own life. She described quitting drinking as one of the “many gifts” of sobriety and said it helped her step back from self-sabotaging patterns. Alongside that, she credited hormone patches as an unexpectedly important medical aid. While she did not specify the exact formulation, the reference strongly suggests hormone therapy commonly used around perimenopause or menopause, which can affect mood as well as physical symptoms. The broader context is that Faris has also spoken about the emotional strain surrounding her public split from Chris Pratt and the difficult period near the end of her run on “Mom.” Recent interviews indicate she leaned on work, especially her podcast, during the divorce, while her newer comments connect improved mental health to both sobriety and hormone treatment. So the short answer is: hormone patches, together with stopping drinking, were the key changes Faris says helped her overcome depression.

3 articles · Updated · Us Weekly · Aug 20

Anna Faris said on the August 20 “Dear Chelsea” podcast that sobriety helped her appreciate being recognized for her comedic work and changed how she sees her career.
Faris, 49, said drinking was tied to depression “for me for sure,” and that stepping back from alcohol helped her avoid self-sabotage; she added hormone patches also helped.
That shift follows earlier comments in June about leaving CBS sitcom “Mom” in 2020, when she said the intensity of the job had left her losing focus.
Faris starred on “Mom” from 2013 to 2021 but exited a year before the series ended, later saying the seven-year run was rewarding yet complicated and that fan reactions still move her.