Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Opens Up About Depression

Actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said on April 1 he struggled with depression. Johnson faced his own demons after witnessing his mother's suicide attempt as a teenager. "My mom tried to check out when I was 15. She got outta the car on Interstate 65 in Nashville and walked into oncoming traffic. Big rigs and cars swerving outta the way not to hit her. I grabbed her and pulled her back on the gravel shoulder of the road. What’s crazy about that suicide attempt is to this day, she has no recollection of it whatsoever. " Johnson was able to pull his mother from the highway but then sunk into several years of depression. It was made more difficult by injuries that ended his dream of becoming a professional football player. "Struggle and pain is real. I was devastated and depressed. I reached a point where I didn’t want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly." Johnson said he and his mother have now healed. "We both healed. but we've always got to do our best to pay attention when other people are in pain." He encouraged men suffering from depression to open up about their struggles and seek help. "Depression never discriminates Took me a long time to realize it but the key is to not be afraid to open up. Especially us dudes have a tendency to keep it in. You're not alone." Johnson rose to prominence as a professional wrestler in the 1990s as "The Rock." Forbes estimated he was Hollywood's second highest paid actor with $65 million in 2017 earnings.