Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
After sustaining several serious injuries his freshman year of college, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson experienced his “first of three depressions.”
“I didn’t know what it was,” he revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2014. “I didn’t know why I didn’t want to do anything. I had never experienced anything like that.”
Johnson later shared what helped him cope. “I found that, with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone,” the actor said on an episode of “Oprah’s Master Class” in 2015. “You’re not the first to go through it. You’re not going to be the last to go through it … I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and [say], ‘Hey, it’s gonna be OK. It’ll be OK.'”
Pope Francis
In an interview while promoting his upcoming book, “Pope Francis: Politics and Society,” Pope Francis spoke his experience with talk therapy. He said in the 1970s, he visited a psychoanalyst once a week for six months to help him “clarify things.” He also said seeing a therapist helped him a lot and made him “feel free.” His words were important in normalizing conversations surrounding mental health in the Christian community.
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds has credited his wife, Blake Likely, for helping him cope with his anxiety. Not only did his wife convince him to take his “dream role” in “Deadpool,” she also kept him grounded while he filmed the movie.
In an interview with Variety in January, the actor revealed how his anxiety over disappointing fans led him to “stay up late with the script” and lose sleep.” [Lively] helped me through that,” Reynolds said. “I’m lucky to have her around.”
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar got candid about his mental health back in 2015. That year, the Grammy Award-winning artist revealed his struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts in his album. One song — which appeared on the rapper’s 2015 magnum opus To Pimp A Butterfly — features confessional lyrics like “I’ve been dealing with depression ever since an adolescent,” and ultimately celebrates self-love and self-expression.
Wayne Brady
Wayne Brady described his battle with depression and “constant self-doubt” in 2014.”People are like, ‘Wayne Brady’s always happy!'” he said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight (ET). “No I’m not,” he continued. “Because I’m human.” The comedian and “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” star talked candidly about the debilitating effects of depression. “You don’t want to move, you can’t move in the darkness,” he explained. “You’re like, ‘I am just going to sit right here and I want to wallow in this. As much as it hurts, I am going to sit right here because this is what I deserve. This is what I deserve, so I am going to sit here because I am that horrible of a person.'”
James Franco
James Franco opened up to Out Magazine about his history of addiction and depression, “I have a very addictive personality.” After Franco “got over certain addictions” as a teenager, he threw himself into acting when he was 17. But ten years later, the actor realized he was depressed. “On the surface, my life seemed pretty good,” Franco recalled. “But I felt isolated and lonely.”
Jon Hamm
Jon Hamm, who has struggled with addiction and chronic depression, opened up about the benefits of therapy in an interview with InStyle. The “Mad Men” actor talked about the importance of asking for help when you need it: “Medical attention is medical attention whether it’s for your elbow or for your teeth or for your brain. We live in a world where to admit anything negative about yourself is seen as a weakness, when it’s actually a strength. It’s not a weak move to say, ‘I need help.’ In the long run, it’s way better, because you have to fix it.” Hamm, who completed a 30-day program for alcohol abuse in 2015, has also talked about the benefits of therapy and antidepressants in his battle with chronic depression.
Zayne Malik
Zayn Malik has opened up about his struggles with anxiety and an eating disorder. In his autobiography, “Zayn,” Malik details how the pressures of performing and touring with One Direction led him to restrict his food intake to an unhealthy extreme: “I’d just go for days — sometimes two or three days straight — without eating anything at all.”
While his eating disorder and anxiety have diminished since leaving One Direction, the singer continues to speak candidly about his mental health. “We’re all human,” Malik told The Sunday Times in March. “People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don’t believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth.”
Sean “Jay-Z” Carter
Rapper Jay-Z says he’s gone to therapy and benefitted from the process. In an interview with New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, Jay-Z said he “grew so much from the experience.” He went on: “The most important thing I got is that everything is connected. Every emotion is connected and it comes from somewhere. And just being aware of it. Being aware of it in everyday life puts you at such a … you’re at such an advantage.” What’s more, Jay-Z said he learned how to deal with other people’s aggression or difficult behavior:
Michael Phelps
In “Angst,” a documentary about anxiety, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps spoke to a young fan about anxiety, keeping your feelings inside, and what finally helped him feel better.
In a clip from the documentary, Phelps shared his own story: “I just didn’t like who I was. If something was bothering me… and I was angry or depressed or upset, I would almost ignore it. So I would shove it even farther down — so I wouldn’t have to deal with it, so I never had to talk about it. Once I opened up about that, and things that I had kept inside of me for so many years, I then found that life was a lot easier, I got to the point where, I understood that it’s OK to not be OK.”
