On a recent episode of “The Pivot” podcast, superstar Dwayne Johnson opened up about his depression and mental health battles.
“My first battle with depression was down there in Miami. I didn’t want to go to school; I was ready to leave. I left school. I didn’t take any midterms, and I just left,” he said.
Long before raising the “people’s eyebrow” and introducing the world to his catchphrase, “Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?” Johnson was a college football star, a defensive lineman for the University of Miami, which won the national championship during his freshman year in 1991.
Despite the glory of college football stardom, Johnson couldn’t shake the feelings he now recognizes as depression.
“But the interesting thing, at that time, is, I just didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know what mental health was, I didn’t know what depression was. I just knew I didn’t wanna be there,” he explained on the podcast.
Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders, with 5% of the adult population suffering from it at some point, according to the World Health Organization.
Throughout the episode, Johnson recalled hard times being a college student, missing “team meetings” and not wanting to participate in anything. In a May 12 Instagram post, Johnson shared the importance of mental health awareness and urged men to take their mental health seriously.
“I’ve worked hard over the years to gain the emotional tools to work thru any mental pain that may come to test me. But years ago I didn’t know what mental health struggle was. As men, we didn’t talk about it,” he said in the post.
“Having the courage to talk to someone is your superpower. I lost two friends to suicide. Talk to someone. Despite how you may feel, you’re never alone,” he said.
In 2022, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline hotline was made more accessible, with the adoption of a three digit number, 988.
“I found that with depression one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone. You’re not the first to go through it,” he added.
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