Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is known as one of Hollywood’s tough guys and top earners, but the former wrestler-turned-actor recently shed light on his battle with depression over the years.
“Struggle and pain is real. I was devastated and depressed,” Johnson said in an interview with The Daily Express. “I reached a point where I didn’t want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly.”
Johnson told the news outlet about several painful moments in his life and later tweeted the indispensable lesson he learned through those hardships.
“We all go thru the sludge/sh– and depression never discriminates,” he wrote. “Took me a long time to realize it but the key is to not be afraid to open up.”
DRJ tweet
As a teenager, Johnson watched his parents struggle to afford the basics as they were evicted from their apartment and got their car repossessed.
“We were living in an efficiency that cost $120 a week,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “We come home, and there’s a padlock on the door and an eviction notice. My mom starts bawling. She just started crying and breaking down. ‘Where are we going to live? What are we going to do?’”
At 15, Johnson watched his mother attempt suicide, he told The Daily Express.
“What’s crazy about that suicide attempt is that to this day, she has no recollection of it whatsoever. Probably best she doesn’t,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s depression followed him at the University of Miami, which he attended with a full football scholarship. He dreamed of one day becoming a professional football player.
Following a series of injuries, Johnson dropped out of college in his first semester and had a 0.7 GPA. However, he managed to pick himself back up.
DTJ college tweet
Johnson told The Daily Express that finding inner strength prevented him from becoming 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,” Johnson said. “We have to help them through it and remind them they are not alone.”
