Dwayne Johnson Talks About Overcoming Depression

'The Rock', Dwayne Johnson, now one of the most highly paid actors, did not always have an easy life. He was a football player in the California Football League, but fate had different plans. He found himself cut from the CFL and was forced to move back with his parents. He was left with a meagre seven dollars in his pocket, Access Hollywood reported.

He narrated, "I literally said, 'How much money do I have?' I pulled it out - and it wasn't all paper money either - so it was about seven bucks, and at that time it was the worst time in my life. I fell into depression, had to overcome that."

He explained that depression sometimes, especially if you aren't aware of what it is, could creep up on you and knock you out. "I mean, it can knock us out," he continued, stating that he had dealt with three bouts of depression.

"And then once you start to realize what it is, then we all have a certain coping mechanism that we have to go through with depression, but in that case, when I had seven bucks in my pocket, I had to move back in with my parents," he explained. He was 24 years old, and he thought it was the worst time in his life. He confessed that, at that time it certainly was, but now when he looks back, he says, "It was also the most defining time in my life."

Johnson said that those dark moments of his life made him tough and taught him to fight and never give up. It had rocked him to the core, he admitted and when one gets knocked down that way, and "everyone of us have been down before." He continued, that when things like that happen "you come back up, you come back up stronger. Hopefully a little smarter and then you start the next chapter."

That next chapter for him he says was all right, he got better and he got through it, and he is thankful that he was fortunate. Dwayne has never shied away from his past and has always been upfront in acknowledging his hardships that dogged him throughout his early life. This, however, can be beneficial for people suffering from depression.

It is seen that depression is the most common illness affecting nearly 14.8 million adults in the United States, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. While people go for different treatments, Talk therapy has seen to be effective. Larry Christensen, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, said, "Talk therapy can give you the skills to help handle your depression, so for many people it's a very empowering experience. This makes it effective over a long period of time." Talking is the best medicine, she said.

Adding to her statement, Eric Endlich, PhD, a Boston-based clinical psychologist, said that to talk your comfort level with the therapist is of higher importance than the kind of degree that person has."Therapy is generally much more successful if you like your therapist and have a good relationship with that person," he says.

Also, a study conducted in Switzerland on 1,500 people revealed that cognitive behavioural therapy was most effective on a larger group. The research suggests that the kind of talk therapy a person offers is secondary, getting help is the critical element.