Celebrity News December 07, 2016
Naomi Judd Reveals Her Battle with Depression
Naomi Judd has faced some dark days. Now, she is speaking out about her struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts.
At one point, the 70-year-old singer contemplated jumping from a bridge near her home in Tennessee. Those days three years ago were some of her hardest times, even though she was receiving medication and was attending therapy sessions.
The depression, anxiety, and panic attacks were too much for her. She told People, “Nobody can understand it unless you've been there. Think of your very worst day of your whole life — someone passed away, you lost your job, you found out you were being betrayed, that your child had a rare disease — you can take all of those at once and put them together and that's what depression feels like.”
The pain began after she returned home from the Judds' "Last Encore" tour. It was at the time where she became so weak, she even considered suicide, thinking it would be easier to end her pain. "It's so beyond making sense but I thought, 'Surely my family will know that I was in so much pain and I thought they would have wanted me to end that pain [through suicide].'”
The five-time Grammy winner is now beginning to heal and is reflecting on her experiences in her new memoir, "River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope,” in which she details the panic attacks and battles with depression.
Naomi has also had to deal with the physical side effects of the medications she is on, saying, “My face is swollen. I don't have any hair. My right hand shakes real bad from lithium. I look horrible. But I can't be anything else after what I've gone through.”