Depression is a terrible affliction that far too many people must live with every day. Sadly, the disease doesn’t discriminate on who it affects. Young or old, rich or poor, male or female, none of those factors matter in diagnosis. In fact, you may be surprised to find out there are so many famous people living with depression.
To demonstrate this phenomenon, here is a list of seven famous people living with depression. These are celebrities who have dealt with depression while being in the spotlight of the public eye.
1. Dwayne Johnson
This wrestler turned actor is currently one of the highest paid entertainers in Hollywood, but he is also one of the most famous people living with depression. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can typically be found in cheery family friendly films these days, but he has experienced heartbreaking difficulty on his road to success.
Johnson has recently opened up about his depression in an attempt to possibly help young men who may be afraid to be open about their feelings. The action star has attempted to drive home the point that trying to ignore the disease and bottling up the feelings surrounding it is very dangerous, Hopefully his efforts will succeed in diminishing the stigma surrounding depression in time.
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2. Jon Hamm
Like his character Don Draper in Mad Men, Hamm has fought heavy things in his personal life. He has been open about his experience with depression and says it was particularly hard after his father died while he was in college.
In an interview with InStyle magazine, Hamm talked about the healing benefits of attending therapy and psychotherapy sessions. He describe therapy as a world where to admit anything negative about yourself s actually a strength. In fact, Hamm believes it is not a weak move to tell somebody you need help.
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3. Lady Gaga
The iconic pop star has been rather honest about her dealings with both depression and anxiety. According to her, she has dealt with the two afflictions throughout her entire life. Gaga has also been very open regarding the fact that she takes medication to deal with the issues she’s faced with. It’s clear that she would like more people to accept help where it’s needed in terms of mental health.
The singer has openly said that she believes talking about mental health can be incredibly beneficial for all. “If we share our stories and stick together, we’re stronger,” Gaga once said in an interview with Billboard magazine.
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4. Wayne Brady
It’s easy to see Wayne Brady as a bright, funny person with a very positive personality. That’s mostly due to the fact that he is a person like that in how he interacts with people and presents himself. However, there are some dark and stormy clouds behind that sunshine fueled demeanor. He had struggled with strong feelings of depression all of his life, unfortunately.
As one of the most famous people living with depression, Wayne is honest about his struggles today in the hopes that men can one day be more open about their issues with mental health.
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5. J.K. Rowling
A pioneer in the young adult genre of literary fiction, J.K. Rowling has become something of a household name for fantasy fans everywhere. Before she was a smashing success, however, she was a poverty stricken single mother with big dreams brought down by dark thoughts.
Rowling could probably never foresee the outrageous success her Harry Potter series would go on to be, leaving her in a pretty severe mental state that would occasionally welcome suicidal thoughts. These awful feelings and ideas would inspire one of the more fearsome monsters in her books, the hooded Dementors that suck the happiness right from a person’s body.
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6. Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson has been a name in the entertainment industry for years, taking on roles ranging from comedy to action, and even a few dramas, as well. The spotlight seemed to favour him for quite a while, however the public had no idea what the actor was dealing with off-screen. These problems were brought to light following a harrowing suicide attempt in 2007.
Luckily, this incident triggered a path to treatment and stability. Today, Wilson seems to be managing his issues well with support from friends and family.
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7. Kerry Washington
Previously found on the hit show Scandal, Kerry Washington has done well for herself as an actress. However, she is one of the famous people living with depression in her own unique way. According to the actress, she would binge eat dangerous amounts of food until she eventually passed out. Then she would go to the gym for brutal, painful sessions of exercise to work the damage off.
Naturally, this way of living can put an incredible amount of stress on a person. With an intervention from her dance teacher, Washington moved away from those hazardous tendencies with the help of years of therapy.
Nowadays, she has dedicated a fair amount of time and energy to removing the stigma found behind mental health issues such as PTSD.
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