In a recent interview with the Self Magazine, Taraji P Henson opened up about the depth of her depression. Talking about her struggles, the Empire actress said that there was a point in her life, before she sought professional help for her issues, when she felt like a dark cloud. She would have evident mood swings. Taraji mentioned how one day she would be up and the very next day she would feel extremely low, reluctant to go out and interact with people.
“I noticed the mood swings, like, you know, one day I would be up and the next day I would be down, feeling like I don’t want to go out in public, almost agoraphobic,” she said during an interview with Self Magazine. Speaking about her struggles with anxiety, the actress said that there were days when her brain would keep thinking about all the worst scenarios in the world on a loop. It was not long before she realised that she needed help. She felt no shame when she started to recognise it. Taraji mentioned, “It was like, ‘I have to get some help,’ because I’m the life of the party and when I go dark, I go dark. I don’t want to leave the house,” she said.
After quietly struggling for a while, the actress reached out to a therapist, who was recommended to her by her ‘Empire’ co-star Gabourey Sidibe. And when she started seeing the therapist, it was like “the sky cracked open”. She asserted that being a black woman, it was extremely important for her to find a therapist who was a black woman, someone who could understand her struggles.