Actress Ashley Judd is known for her roles in “Divergent,” “Double Jeopardy,” and “Olympus has Fallen,” but many might be surprised to find out she has struggled with overcoming depression.
Friday afternoon Judd spoke to East Tennessee State University students and Milligan students at the ETSU D.P. Culp University Center Auditorium, telling students about her road to recovery.
“I am Ashley Judd. I am in recovery from depression and I have no shame.” she said as she walked on stage in her bright green sun dress.
Judd shared her story regarding her abusive childhood and revealed that she was raped twice, neglected by her parents as a child and she lived alone in two states as a teenager.
During the time she lived alone, she had no neighbor, no friend and no one who could take a stand for her. “That is why I take a stand, for those who need a voice,” she said.
After being left alone the first time, Judd moved in with her father. In a matter of weeks, her father – too – left her alone with $40 in an envelope so he could return to a life of drinking and drugs. Judd had to take care of herself and ask friends for a ride to school everyday for a year.
“And now I live a life so empowered, functionally healthy, elegant and indistinguishable from the way I lived as a child,” she said.
But overcoming her childhood trauma wasn’t easy.
Judd took part in inpatient treatment for 47 days at the Shades of Hope Treatment Center in Buffalo Gap, Texas. After visiting her sister, who was there for an eating disorder, facility staff asked Judd to stay for treatment, and she agreed.
“It felt like a live wire was being touched to me and I was having a tsunami inside me,” she said. “I didn’t know there was help for a kid like me.”
Her treatment at Shades of Hope was the first step in her road to recovery, but Judd also said her faith played a vital role in her recovery.
“I had to cultivate a relationship with a power greater than myself. I was baptized twice just to make sure it took,” she said with a smile. “I had to fire God and find the god beyond my misunderstanding.”
Judd wrote about her struggle with depression in her autobiography, “All That Is Bitter & Sweet,” and today speaks across the country about her abusive childhood and struggle with depression.
“I know that my dark past is my greatest asset, and with it I can help others,” she said.