Brett Goldstein reveals daily habit that helped depression

Brett Goldstein says a daily gratitude journal—listing 10 positive moments each day—helped him retrain his brain after depression before Ted Lasso fame. The Emmy-winning Roy Kent star told Men's Health UK the therapist-led habit shifted his outlook within weeks, though he still has darker days.

Key Takeaways

• Brett Goldstein kept a therapist-advised gratitude journal, noting at least 10 positive moments every day.
• He said early entries started tiny—like “the sun was up”—before the practice trained his brain to spot good things.
• By about day 30, he could list far more positives and felt a clear mindset shift.
• He still has “darker days,” but says gratitude remains a skill he works at.
• The comments appear in the September issue of Men's Health UK.

The British actor and comedian, 46, is best known as Roy Kent in Apple TV’s Ted Lasso. Before the series made him a mainstream star, he has said he struggled with depression and turned to therapy for help.

For more celebrity updates, visit our Celebrity Breaking News hub.

What daily habit did Brett Goldstein use for depression?

His therapist asked him to write a list of 10 things from that day he was grateful for. Speaking to Men's Health UK, Goldstein recalled: “I was depressed.” At first, he said, finding anything felt impossible when he was “so, so depressed.”

He forced himself to fill the list anyway, starting with basics such as “The sun was up.” Over time, the exercise became easier. “By day 30 of doing that, you’ve started training your brain to look for the positive,” he said, adding he could eventually list far more than 10 items.

According to The Independent, he noticed a clear change a few weeks in and still leans on the practice when life feels heavy.

How did gratitude change Brett Goldstein’s outlook?

Goldstein described the shift as lasting, saying it “really had changed me” and helped him “look for the good.” He framed gratitude as something you practice, not a one-off fix: “It’s a f****** skill – or, something you have to work at.”

He was frank that the work is unfinished. “I don’t always achieve it. I still have darker days. But gratitude helps,” he told the magazine. That candor matters because it pairs a simple habit with an honest admission that harder days can return.

Why is Brett Goldstein talking about masculinity and feelings?

In the same interview, Goldstein reflected on social pressure to hide emotion. He said he grew up with the sense that “Men aren’t supposed to show emotions,” then found vulnerability often went well in his relationships with women.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I’ve been learning the wrong lessons,’” he said. He also pushed back on rigid ideas of how men “should” look or behave, arguing many people follow scripts they never truly chose.

Beyond Ted Lasso—where he won Emmy Awards for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy in 2021 and 2022—Goldstein has appeared in Shrinking, the film All Of You, and the romantic comedy Office Romance. The full conversation is in Men's Health UK’s September issue, on sale now.