After sharing a candid Instagram post about his mother's attempted suicide, the wrestler-turned-actor spoke about his own mental health issues
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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is tearing down the taboo.
He has been widely praised for candidly opening up about his struggle with mental health issues, revealing that his history of depression goes all the way back to when he was a teenager, and is a problem that has affected his family as well.
In an interview with UK newspaper The Express, the wrestler-turned-actor reflected on the impact of his recent Instagram post, which described an incident where he saved his mother from a suicide attempt.
‘Struggle and pain is real,’ Johnson said. ‘I was devastated and depressed. I reached a point where I didn't want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly.’
The story about his mother emerged while he was on-set for the upcoming season of Ballers. He wrote on Instagram: ‘Got me thinkin' though bout how many of us have been affected by suicide of our friends, family. Struggle and pain is real.
‘We've all been there on some level or another. My mom tried to check out when I was 15. She got outta the car on Interstate 65 in Nashville and walked into oncoming traffic. Big rigs and cars swerving outta the way not to hit her.
‘I grabbed her and pulled her back on the gravel shoulder of the road. What's crazy about that suicide attempt is to this day, she has no recollection of it whatsoever. Probably best she doesn't. S**ts of a scene to shoot - didn't like it - but it did reminder [sic] that we always gotta do our best to really pay attention when people are in pain.’
Johnson told the The Express that he could easily have become suicidal like his mother: ‘We both healed but we've always got to do our best to pay attention when other people are in pain. We have to help them through it and remind them they are not alone.’
The honest Instagram post caused a huge stir online. Johnson tweeted to thank his fans: ‘Thank you. We all go thru [sic] the sludge/s**t and depression never discriminates,’ he wrote, ‘Took me a long time to realise it but the key is to not be afraid to open up. Especially us dudes have a tendency to keep it in. You're not alone.’