AFTER dealing with his mental health as a young man, Dwayne Johnson says he has learnt the value of talking through his challenges. In an interview with E! News, the actor opened up about feeling pressure as a guy to keep his emotions hidden.
“I grew up an only child, and a dude,“ the 49-year-old star told the outlet. “And you know, it’s not in our nature to just talk about it because it makes us feel vulnerable.
“We don’t want to feel vulnerable. It makes us feel weak, we shouldn’t feel weak. We should have our shit together. But that’s not life.”
Johnson felt helpless when he encountered his “first attack of depression” in 1990 as a result of his refusal to open up about what he was going through. The wrestler turned actor previously said that after his football career got disrupted because of his injuries, his mental health got worse, and he then suffered from another depression after being cut from his Canadian Football League team and suffering from a breakup in the mid-’90s.
He mentioned he didn’t realise what it was when he experienced depression for the first time and he didn’t feel like doing anything.
Johnson realised that in order to find success and get through serious problems like this, one needed to confront their feelings, seek help, and talk through them. It's a message he's determined to spread on the NBC show Young Rock, which is based on his life. The TV drama received positive feedback for depicting a young Johnson's mental health difficulties last year.
He said: “If you’re going through it and you’re struggling and you’re depressed, you’re not alone, and it’s OK to ask for help. Asking for help isn’t a weakness. Asking for help is actually our superpower.”
Johnson shared he often has conversations about mental health with his daughters and talks about the importance of doing so. The actor admitted he still behaves like a kid as he gets older, but feels a new ‘energy’ in his 40s.
“I can’t speak for all dudes, but for me, when you’re in your 20s you’re still a baby, still a kid,“ he said. “When you’re in your 30s, you’re still trying to figure stuff out. If you get lucky, maybe you’ll figure stuff out in your 40s.”
Dwayne Johnson will next be starring in superhero film Black Adam, a fascinating character who can function as a hero, anti-hero or even a villain who has a tragic past and a documentary power at the level of the strongest of DC Comics.
