May 14, 2023 at 7:35 pm

Dwayne Johnson Looks Back On His Struggles With Mental Health: 'I Didn't Know What Depression Was'

Dwayne Johnson is opening up about his struggles with depression.

The 51-year-old Black Adam actor got candid in a new interview with The Pivot podcast about his mental health and how he was finally introduced to taking care of himself in that capacity.

Keep reading to find out more…

During his appearance on the show, Dwayne opened up about the three major times he knows he was experiencing depression, with the first starting at the end of his football career at the University of Miami.

“[I] didn’t want to go to school,” he shared. “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 next time was with his divorce from Dany Garcia in 2008.

“Years later, around 2017 or so, went through a little bit. Knew what it was at that time,” Dwayne added. “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.’”

While going through those times were hard, Dwayne says that his daughters – Ava Raine (aka Simone Johnson), Jasmine Johnson, and Tiana Gia Johnson – have been his “saving grace.”

“You look at them, and you realize, ‘Well, I mean, really, this is what it’s all about.’”