Dwayne Johnson is best known for his time as a professional wrestler and as a hugely successful movie star. But the actor originally had dreams of being drafted for the NFL when he was in school and college until he was hit with a career-ending injury when he had to have his shoulder reconstructed.
The star has always been open about the difficulties he faced on the road to success, even previously confessing that he used to steal from a 7-Eleven as a kid before going to the gym.
Speaking to The Pivot podcast last week, Johnson opened up about facing “three bouts of depression” in his life, including in the time after his injury.
He explained: “I’d gone through two, three bouts of depression over the course of years, and the football one for me was a big one.”
Johnson went on to say that he didn’t realize what he was dealing with at the time — he just knew that he didn’t want to be at school at all because of it.
“My first bout of depression was down there in Miami. 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.
“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 want to be there. Wasn’t going to any of the team meetings. Wasn’t participating in anything.”
The star briefly mentioned that he felt a similar way after divorcing his ex-wife, Dany Garcia, who is also his manager and business partner.
“Years later, and went through it again when I got a divorce… Didn’t know what it was,” he said.
Johnson explained that when he went through another depressive episode in 2017, he knew how to handle it and how to ask for help from those around him.
He recalled: “Years later, around 2017 or so, went through a little bit. Knew what it was at that time. And luckily, at that time, I had some friends who I could lean on and say, ‘You know, I’m feeling a little wobbly now. Got a little struggle happening. I’m seeing a little gray and not the blue.'”
The “Jumanji” and “Black Adam” star also said that his daughters, Simone Garcia Johnson, Jasmine Johnson, and Tiana Gia Johnson were his “saving grace.”
“The saving grace for me has really been my daughters, the three of them, and being a girl dad, that’s been the saving grace. You look at them, and you realize, ‘Well, I mean, really, this is what it’s all about,'” said the actor.
Dwayne Johnson opens up about the ‘3 bouts of depression’ he has experienced. Dwayne Johnson opens up about the ‘3 bouts of depression’ he has experienced