Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s inspiring personal story: his stance on depression is truly touching
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson definitely has an impressive Hollywood resume.
What’s even more remarkable is that he is one of the biggest stars who have fairly recently opened up about their struggle with depression.
The Rampage star made an appearance on ITV’s TV program Lorraine in which he discussed personal life stories, one of which being his lifelong battle with mental illness.
“Depression doesn’t discriminate, and I thought that was an important part of the narrative if I was going to share a little bit of my story of the past,” he said.
“Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living or where you come from, it doesn’t discriminate, we all kind of go through it. If I could share a little bit of it and if I could help somebody, I’m happy to do it.“
Got tons of responses to this. Thank you. We all go thru the sludge/shit and depression never discriminates. Took me a long time to realize 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
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) April 2, 2018
Johnson emphasized that the conversation, as well as the ongoing stigma surrounding the topic of depression and mental health in relation to men, needs to change.“There’s just a DNA, a wiring in us and a constitution that oftentimes doesn’t let us talk about when we’re scared or vulnerable or things like that,” the actor said in this regard.
“It’s kind of like what’s been deemed as ‘toxic masculinity.’ You’ve got to talk about it and you’re not alone. I was an only child and I kept that bottled in, deep, deep. It wasn’t good, so [I am] happy to share my story.”
True story. Depressed and quit Miami, 1st semester of freshman year. .7 GPA
Two years later I was named academic captain. #KeepGrinding https://t.co/3Tl32DqHOy— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 28, 2017
In the early months of 2018, ‘The Rock’ took the opportunity to open up about his family’s personal story with mental illness.
More specifically, he shared a lengthy Instagram post with details about his mother’s suicide attempt when he was only a 15-year-old boy.
“Struggle and pain is real. We’ve all been there on some level or another,” Johnson shared on his emotional post.
The Skyscraper star also took to Twitter in order to give a little more of a backstory to his own battles with depression:
“We all go thru the sludge/shit and depression never discriminates. Took me a long time to realize 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.“
“My knee-jerk reaction to sadness is some sort of action. I like to go do something. For me, the going to do something, it sounds boring and cliche, but it is what it is with me, I gotta hit the gym.”
Johnson, as stated above, has the habit of countering the effects of depression with physical exercise. That is, indeed, some good advice, as studies have shown that being physically active decreases the risk of depression substantially.
All in all, his story is a true inspiration to all, especially the men who are struggling with mental illness in silence. Opening up and seeking help is definitely a cornerstone for the improvement of one’s mental health, thus, Johnson has indeed done the cause justice by spreading this message to his large audience!
If you are interested, a video of the mentioned video is available for you to watch by just clicking the link below!