The Rock opens up about mother’s suicide attempt

In an Instagram post, Johnson – also known as The Rock – urged people to help others, recalling the time he did the same for his mother Ata.

Alongside a picture of him filming a graveyard scene in his series Ballers, he shared details of his mother’s suicide attempt – which happened when he was just 15 – and paid tribute to his brother who took his own life.

He told his 99.5m followers that the scene had “got me thinkin’ though ’bout how many of us have been affected by suicide of our friends, family.”

The former wrestler said: “Struggle and pain is real. We’ve all been there on some level or another. 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.

“Probably best she doesn’t.”

Johnson said he did not enjoy shooting the graveyard scene but added it was a reminder that “we always gotta do our best to really pay attention when people are in pain”.

“Help ’em get thru it, get ’em talkin’ about the struggle and remind ’em that they’re not alone,” he said.

“We got lucky that day when I was 15 and that ain’t always the case.”

It’s not the first time Johnson has talked publicly about his mother’s attempted suicide.

In 2015, he told Oprah’s Master Class that it happened during a particularly bad time for the family, saying: “In that moment, one of the greatest lessons I’ve ever learned was how precious life is and how in an instant, it can all go away.” – news.sky.com