The Rock Opens Up About His Battle With Depression
TheSun- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has opened up about his secret battle with his mental health after suffering from depression for decades.
The 45-year-old actor has become known as one of the biggest action heroes in showbiz, but has opened up for the first time about his inner struggles. He confessed that the bouts of low mood started when he was living in poverty as a child – and witnessed his mother Ata attempt suicide when he was just fifteen years old. Speaking to the Express, he revealed: “She got out of the car on the Interstate 65 in Nashville and walked into oncoming traffic.
“Big rigs and cars were swerving out the way. I grabbed her and pulled her back on the gravel shoulder of the road.” Dwayne admits that his mum was in such a state during the attempt that she doesn’t even recall trying to take her own life.
“She has no recollection of it whatsoever,” he admitted. “Probably best she doesn’t.”
Recollecting that time as his “worst point”, Dwayne added: “I reached a point where I didn’t want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly.”
“We both healed but we’ve always got to do our best to pay attention when other people are in pain,” he added. “We have to help them through it and remind them they are not alone.”
“I’ve been there, I have been in a dark place, and if there’s one thing she needs it is to talk things out, because nobody should be suffering in silence.
This is always a tough subject for me to write about, because the main goal of this website is to provide an escape for you guys through comedy, and this is something very serious that hits close to home, but I feel it’s necessary and sometimes vital to bring up, so here we go.
Depression is a motherfucker. It affects 350 million people worldwide, and is the #1 cause of disability on the planet. It affects me, big time. I’ve been very open about my battle for months now on this website (not to the level The Rock was, albite my story is not too far off from his), with the hope to help end the stigma around the disease and mental health in general. I think The Rock probably had the same intent (on a much grander scale) with what he revealed to the world here, and I commend him for it. It takes serious balls to be as open as he was, especially at the level of popularity he’s at, and it also speaks volumes and moves mountains for him to come out and push the “You’re not alone.” mantra, because it’s so true. The Rock has depression. If you struggle through it, and are afraid to get the help you need because of the stigma surrounding it, try to remind yourself of that. The Rock has it too. I have it too. You probably know a dozen people who have it on top of that. You’re not alone. Ever. People are willing to talk, and I always am. My DMs on Twitter have been open for well over a year now and I’ve spoken to so many who were going through exactly what I did. Reach out if you need help, to me or to those close with you, and take the necessary steps to better yourself. You deserve it and are so worth it.
Shoutout to The Rock for coming forward, though. As silly as it may sound, it meant a lot to me for him to do this.