Dwayne Johnson decided to highlight the importance of taking care of – and talking about – mental health by sharing his battle with depression.
The 51-year-old star, who is also known as The Rock, addressed the issue in an episode of 'The Pivot podcast released this week. He said he started dealing with the disorder in his teens; but, at that stage of life, he did not know that his behavior brought symptoms of depression. "I left school; but the interesting thing is, I didn't know what mental health was at the time. I didn't know what depression was," he recalled. "I just knew I didn't want to be there."
The depression reached a particularly acute phase in 1995 when Johnson was cut from the Calgary, Canada, football team. Two years later, the actor married his first wife, Dany Garcia; and returned to feeling depressed after the divorce in 2008. But luckily, when the separation took place, he already knew what he was facing mentally.
"I knew what it was back then, and luckily I had some friends I could lean on and say, 'Hey, I'm feeling a little wobbly right now. I've got a little fight going on,'" said the artist, before highlighting the importance of asking for help and being aware of the symptoms of depression. "I've worked hard over the years to gain the emotional tools to deal with any mental pain that might test me," he said.
Johnson also pointed out that toxic masculinity turns mental health issues into taboos, which harms those who need help. "As men, we didn't talk about it," he said of his inner circle. "We just kept our heads down and worked at it. It wasn't healthy, but it was what we knew how to do."
He even left some advice in the interview: “If you see your own version of mental well-being turning into mental hell, the most important thing you can do is talk to someone. Having the courage to talk to someone is your superpower."
