The 35-year-old "House of Lies" star said the problem is something that her mother and grandmother also suffered from, reported US magazine.
"I struggled a lot with anxiety and depression. There is a serotonin imbalance in our family line," Bell said adding that her grandmother would go "nuts" at times.
The actress, who is married to funnyman Dax Shepard and is the mom of daughters Lincoln and Delta, said she was diagnosed with the problem at a young age.
"(My mom's) a nurse and she had the wherewithal to recognize that in herself when she was feeling it, and when I was 18 said, 'If you start to feel like you are twisting things around you, and you feel like there is no sunlight around you and you are paralyzed with fear, this is what it is.