Dwayne Johnson recalls 3 separate battles with depression during Mental Health Awareness Month

Hollywood actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson recentlyopened up about his battles with depression. Candidly speaking about his personal life, he explained how he won those battles and triumphed. On the latest episode of The Pivot podcast, the Black Adam actor revealed that he first felt depressed when he was at the University of Miami and he injured his shoulder, which kept him from playing on the football team.

"I didn’t want to go to school," he said. "I was ready to leave. I left school. I didn’t take any midterms, and I just left. 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 second time, he fell into depression was around the time of his divorce. Andagain in 2017, he struggled with his mental health and had to take the support of a few friends to recover.

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"Years later, I went through it again when I got a divorce. Didn’t know what it was,"he continued. "Years later, around 2017 or so, went through a little bit. I 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 grey and not the blue.'"

His "saving grace"during these bouts of depression have been his three daughters. He said, "You look at them, and you realize, ‘Well, I mean, really, this is what it’s all about.'"

The Jungle Cruise actor took to Instagram on Friday to share a part of the podcast and send an important message to his fans about seeking mental health care in time.

"I've worked hard over the years to gain the emotional tools to work through any mental pain that may come to test me. But years ago I didn't know what mental health struggle was," he wrote. "As men, we didn't talk about it. We just kept our head down and worked through it. Not healthy but it's all we knew."

"If you're going through your own version of mental wellness turning into mental hell-ness, the most important thing you can do is talk to somebody," Johnson added. "It can't be fixed if you keep that pain inside. 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."

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