Naomi Judd was candid about her mental health struggles in the years before her death.
She offered words of solace and solidarity with those who also struggled with suicidal thoughts after her fight.
Judd passed away on Saturday at the age of 76. The disease of mental illness was the cause of the death of their mother.
We are shattered. She was loved by her public as we loved her. In a statement on Saturday, Judd's daughters said they were in unknown territory.
Although in some instances Judd said she had struggled with her mental health for her entire life, she often cited the close of The Judds' Last Encore tour in 2012 as the time when things got particularly dark.
In her 2016 memoir, River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope, Judd said her depression was at its worst after the tour, when suppressed memories of a childhood molestation re surfaced.
I never dealt with all the things that happened to me, so it came out as depression and anxiety. Depression is partly genetic, and I have it on both sides of my family, according to an essay written by Judd for NBC New s.
Judd said that her muscles were atrophied during her depression. An elevator was installed in her home to help her get around.
According to an interview with Good Morning America, Judd was diagnosed with severe depression.
They tried me on every single thing they had. She told GMA that if she lived through this, she wanted someone to see that they could survive.
Judd said she spent time in psychiatric wards during her mental health struggles.
I had to go into serious treatment and it was an incredibly painful road. Judd wrote in her essay that there were times when she didn't think she would make it.
She said she felt like herself while on stage. The mental health struggles that followed the tour were not seen by the crowds of fans.
I wouldn't leave the house for three weeks, I wouldn't get out of my pajamas, and I wouldn't practice normal hygiene. She said it was really bad.
She convinced herself that her family would understand her desire to die during her bout with depression after the Last Encore tour.
I thought that my family would know that I was in so much pain and that they would want me to end it.
She said that the idea that a member of her family would have to find her body stopped her from acting on her suicidal thoughts.
Judd began taking new drugs, trying new therapies and working on her relationship with her daughters.
Naomi Judd and daughter Wynonna Judd, who made up the country duo The Judds, had a strained relationship. They claimed that therapy had healed their relationship.
The pair appeared on the OWN documentary series The Judds. The pair grew apart during the filming of the documentary.
By the time Naomi Judd began promoting her book in 2016 she said she and her daughter were on a break.
We talk about all of the mistakes I made. She said that they have been through a lot of therapy together.
By the year 2021, it appears the relationship had mended as Wynonna Judd and Naomi Judd helped to care for their cousin, who was in an accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo in which she fell and broke her leg.
Naomi Judd was trying to manage her depression. Judd revealed how her treatment ravaged her appearance during the promotion of her book.
She said in 2016 that she had taken medication that caused her face to swell and her hair to fall out. She said that she looked horrible because of the way she shook her hand.
She said she had to wear a wig because of her hair loss.
It is a drag. I'm always afraid I'll leave my wig in the car or home. She told People that she would sew hair into the back of her hats to make it look real.
In order to conquer the depression and panic attacks, Judd had to continue her treatment.
She became an advocate for others as a result of the struggle. Judd would go on to work with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital to try to reduce stigma and get the word out about treatment for mental illness.
There are almost 44 million people in America who experience mental illness in a year. There are other people with power in numbers. You are not alone.
She and Dr. Weinberger wrote a letter about how suicide was a preventable cause of death.
For everyone mourning the death of someone who committed suicide, an inevitable question arises: Why did this happen? The letter says that they don't have very good answers.
Judd and Weinberger urged the United States to put more resources into studying and preventing suicides.
The federal government spent more money last year to study supplements than it did to understand why Americans kill themselves.
If you or someone you know is in a crisis, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
