Wentworth Miller is seeing a resurgence in his career after going into what he calls “semi-retirement” following the end of Prison Break in 2009. He’s currently playing bad as Captain Cold in The Flash and Legends Of Tomorrow, with Prison Break soon returning to Fox. But the success likely means little against his success with depression.
In an eye-opening Facebook post, Miller opened up with his struggles with depression during the period following Prison Break. In it, he points to a paparazzi photo that soon became a meme as a key moment of pain:
In 2010, at the lowest point in my adult life, I was looking everywhere for relief/comfort/distraction. And I turned to food. It could have been anything. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. But eating became the one thing I could look forward to. Count on to get me through. There were stretches when the highlight of my week was a favorite meal and a new episode of TOP CHEF. Sometimes that was enough. Had to be.
And I put on weight. Big f–king deal.
One day, out for a hike in Los Angeles with a friend, we crossed paths with a film crew shooting a reality show. Unbeknownst to me, paparazzi were circling. They took my picture, and the photos were published alongside images of me from another time in my career. “Hunk To Chunk.” “Fit To Flab.” Etc.
My mother has one of those “friends” who’s always the first to bring you bad news. They clipped one of these articles from a popular national magazine and mailed it to her. She called me, concerned.
In 2010, fighting for my mental health, it was the last thing I needed.
Miller also included one of the posts from FB with the photo in question:
Wentworth Miller responds to meme, explaining he put on weight because he was depressed https://t.co/Os55x7UHOB pic.twitter.com/sMvtJp1xQi
— BBC Newsbeat (@BBCNewsbeat) March 29, 2016
Luckily, the actor was able to turn this extreme negative into a positive, using it as a sign to remind him of how he worked out of his dark places. You can read his full statement below, which also takes some time to show where those in need or their friends can reach out if they’re in need. Plenty deal with depression daily, so even the smallest bit could mean to world to someone who is suffering.
(Via Mashable / Wentworth Miller)
