Taraji P. Henson on Her ‘Abbott Elementary’ Role and Her Fight to Improve Mental Health (Exclusive)

Actress Taraji P. Henson is speaking out and getting candid about a cause close to her heart: mental health.

“Extra” spoke with Taraji about her own mental health and her TV return.

Taraji created the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation to wipe out the stigma surrounding mental health in the African American community.

Henson has struggled with “anxiety issues” in the past. She stressed, “People should not suffer in silence.”

Taraji went on, “I have friends that suffer from mental illnesses, family members.”

Taraji took on her own issues with anxiety and depression with a life-changing trip to Bali.

She shared, “I thought I had it all, you know, covered when I started the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, and I started being very vocal about it. And then I got up one day and I still didn’t feel whole. And it’s always a fight, but I’m here to fight. And that’s when I decided… I need a break.”

Henson took her break in Bali alone. She pointed out, “It was a very spiritual journey for me. I did nothing but eat, pray, and love, and I took care of my mental wellness. And now I can sit here before you and I feel like myself again.”

During her trip, Taraji learned how to breathe. She emphasized, “Breathing is the best. I didn’t understand fully breathing until I went away to Bali because it’s a very spiritual place and I did a lot of meditating. I’m talking about intentional breathing where you stop, slow your thoughts down, and breathe with intent. It’s the best drug ever.”

Taraji also gave up weed and alcohol. She said, “My anxiety was getting the best of me, so I would use weed or alcohol to help me feel loose or get happy. It got to the point where none of that was working.”

Henson’s foundation has teamed up with Kate Spade New York to launch She Care Wellness Pods, a new program that aims to reach more than 25,000 Black women on HBCU campuses with frontline mental health care.

Taraji recalled, “I was a young woman in college who became pregnant my junior year. I heard the whispers… ‘She not going to finish. She going to drop out’… I had the support of my family and friends and everybody was in my corner who was like… ‘No, you’re going to finish.’ But what about those who don’t? And I saw so many young women drop out because of the fear of ‘I can’t do this’ or the mental pressures that come with being a young mother.”

Aside from making a difference in society, Henson is making a return to TV, guest-starring on the hit series “Abbott Elementary.” She commented, “I guess I’m in this place in my career where I have friends now, and I’ll tell my friends, ‘Hey, call me if you ever need me.’ But that’s what happened.

“I love supporting, you know, And again, I’m such a fan, like, why wouldn’t I? That's such a talented, amazingly talented cast,” Taraji went on. “The writing is impeccable. And I used to be a substitute teacher, so I have a really… deep love and respect for teachers and educators.”

Taraji is playing Quinta Brunson’s mother, dishing, “I play Vernita, who is Janine’s mom, and she’s a mess.”