Ashley Judd alert...

Sports Journalists Forum – Media, Newsroom & Reporting Talk

Help Support Sports Journalists Forum:

tonysoprano

Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2006
Messages
692
Shocking stuff. Who knew...



Posted on Thu, Jul. 06, 2006

Ashley Judd treated for depression in Buffalo Gap

The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Ashley Judd says she spent 47 days in a Texas treatment facility for depression and other emotional problems, in an interview in Glamour magazine.
"I needed help," the 38-year-old actress tells the magazine in its August issue. "I was in so much pain."

Judd, the daughter of country music star Naomi Judd, says she entered the Shades of Hope Treatment Center in Buffalo Gap in February for "codependence in my relationships; depression, blaming, raging, numbing, denying and minimizing my feelings."

"But because my addictions were behavioral, not chemical, I wouldn't have known to seek treatment. At Shades of Hope, my behaviors were treated like addictions. And those behaviors were killing me spiritually, the same as someone who is sitting on a corner with a bottle in a brown paper bag."

Judd says she was visiting her sister, singer Wynonna Judd, who was being treated for food addictions.

"When (the counselors) approached me about treatment, they said, 'No one ever does an intervention on people like you. You look too good; you're too smart and together. But you (and Wynonna) come from the same family - so you come from the same wound.' No one had ever validated my pain before. It was so profound," she says.

Judd says her childhood was a time of "complete and total chaos." She attended 13 schools in 12 years and lived alternately with her mother, grandmother and father.

As a result, Judd says, she became "a hypervigilant child," striving to be perfect.

"A wonderful pastor once told me, 'Perfectionism is the highest order of self-abuse,'" she tells the magazine. "So now I try to remind myself that if I engage in perfectionism, I am abusing myself. Period."

Judd says her relationships, including her marriage to race-car driver Dario Franchitti, have improved.

"It's so simple really: I was unhappy and now I'm happy," she says. "Now, even when I'm having a rough day, it's better than my best day before treatment."

Judd starred in 2002's Frida and 2004's De-Lovely. Her upcoming films include Bug, directed by William Friedkin and co-starring Harry Connick Jr.
 
Not the Buffalo Gap, but pretty sure it's in upstate New York.

gap.jpg
 
Apparently, she's been taking all those Kentucky losses way too tough.

judd_ashley_010706.jpg
 
I'm sure there will be some cracks on here about how someone like Ashley Judd could be depressed. I'm sure there will be some tough guys who look at someone dealing with this as someone who isn't mentally tough, or as yet another Hollywood drama queen.

But reading here quotes, and as somebody who has battled these same demons since childhood, I think she seems 100 percent sincere. This part, in particular, applies to what I've gone through:

"Perfectionism is the highest order of self-abuse,'" she tells the magazine. "So now I try to remind myself that if I engage in perfectionism, I am abusing myself. Period."

I don't know if it's technically a diagnosis, but in high school, a psychologist/counselor evaluated me and said that I have a serious problem with perfectionism. I fight it all the time. If I'm playing golf and I mi****, for example, if I lose a hand of poker on a bad play, I am at risk of entering a day-long period of self-loathing. I know that sounds irrational, but it happens. The other day, my brother told me that my parents told him, "We're surprised Pringle isn't at Sports Illustrated by now!" So, of course, I spent the rest of the evening with a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was letting the family down, that I was an underachiever.

Not all depressives are suicidal. I think that's a misconception. I've never, ever, ever had any of those thoughts. What does happen, however, is that nothing I accomplish feels like enough. Or even if it does for a few minutes or days, it wears off quickly - until the next little "failure."

Obviously, upon self-examination, I realize that a lot of the time, the thoughts are irrational. But they are also compulsive. And you end up sitting there, wondering if you are just being pessimistic, or whether the thoughts this time around have real merit ("I am ugly. That's why I can't get a date.")

Anyway, I didn't want to hijack this thread into something about me. I'm trying to speak up for all people who go through this. Because Ashley Judd could win five Best Actress awards, and all that would happen, if she didn't corral it, is that she would find another reason to hate herself. Or she would feel, when she didn't win the sixth, that the previous five were flukes.

So try to go easy, guys.
 
Hey, by no means am I making fun.

I find the woman amazingly sharp (and yes incredibly beautiful), and it's refreshing to see someone of her stature deal with her demons. I respect her tremendously. I truly hope it helps.
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.
tonysoprano said:
Hey, by no means am I making fun.

I find the woman amazingly sharp (and yes incredibly beautiful), and it's refreshing to see someone of her stature deal with her demons. I respect her tremendously. I truly hope it helps.

I know you weren't. I was being proactive and trying to use this as a teaching moment because it hits so close to home.
 
wvgolf said:
Pringle, If you are half as hot as Ashley Judd, I would be happy to give you hug!

;D

Thanks :) I'm a dude, though.

Hopefully, I didn't come off as too heavy-handed.
 
No wonder she waited until her movie is coming out to do this interview. The timing is perfect[\i].
 
Pringle,

We've had quite a few depression threads here, and believe me, your preemptive strike was justified.

Countdown to the 3 posters who say of depression, "Oh just get over it" in 5... 4.... 3....
 
Thanks, Pringle. I'm a "been there, done that still doing that" kind of guy on these issues, too. I also like the fact that she has chosen to talk about her depressive episodes, and not run away from them like so many others do. It's something you have to battle every day -- I don't think it ever, really goes away completely -- and it's definitely something you can't go through alone.

I think somewhere around 19M Americans experience some form of depression (real depression, not sadness or "the blues") in their lives, so this is a real problem, not some "suck it up, let's go" type of situation, as some would like to think (and as Luggie referred to.)

External and/or internal factors can bring it on. Sometimes it's genetic, passed down thru families, sometimes it's a traumatic episode in life (such as the all-too-common post-partum depression that NEVER gets discussed). To each his own, unfortunately, in this case. Therapy can help, drugs can help, self-help can help, but it's a battle ... lifelong for many (including myself).

As for another actor who has been open about his depression in the past, I present you ... the 20th century's all-time box-office leader ... cinema royalty ... Mr. Harrison Ford. (Just google it.)

It's good to keep talking about it, I think. :)
 
cruiselauer.jpg


Tom Cruise would like to tell Ashley Judd she doesn't know the history of psychiatry. He does.
 
mustardbased said:
Damn, I miss Perini Ranch.

I ate at Perini Ranch a couple of months ago when I was in Abilene for a baseball tournament. Had a big ol' ribeye and a glass of wine about 10 o'clock one night. Mmmmm mmmm...that was good eatin'.
 
damien_sappington said:
cruiselauer.jpg


Tom Cruise would like to tell Ashley Judd she doesn't know the history of psychiatry. He does.

Cla-sic. Please Tom, please weigh in on this! I've been oh so good. Comment on this. It will get people to buy the "Mission Impossible III" DVD.
 
It's not really surprising.
The woman's mother and sister are both a little whacko. Not a huge stretch to think she has some issues, too.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top