The Rock opens up on depression and suicide

The highest-paid actor in Hollywood spoke to the Sunday Express about his mother’s suicide attempt, his crushed dream of being a professional American football player and the struggle that followed.

The interview received high praise from his fans, which prompted the Rampage star to thank them on Twitter.

“Got tons of responses to this,” the former professional wrestler wrote.

“Thank you. We all go thru the sludge/s*** and depression never discriminates.

“Took me a long time to realise 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.”

In the interview, Johnson told the story of how his mother Ata tried to kill herself in front of him after the two were evicted from their house.

“She got out of the car on Interstate 65 in Nashville and walked into oncoming traffic,” he said.

“Big rigs and cars were swerving out of the way. I grabbed her and pulled her back on the gravel shoulder of the road.

“What’s crazy about that suicide attempt is that to this day, she has no recollection of it whatsoever. Probably best she doesn’t.”

His own battle with depression began a few years later, when his dream of becoming a professional American football player in Canada was shattered after he suffered several injuries.

“That was my absolute worst time,” Johnson said, adding his girlfriend broke up with him shortly after.

“I reached a point where I didn’t want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly.”

But Johnson, who over the last decade evolved from a professional wrestler to Hollywood’s highest-paid star, said he found strength to overcome his pain over fears of becoming suicidal like his mother.

“We both healed but we’ve always got to do our best to pay attention when other people are in pain,” he said. – skynews.com