Early Life
Shailene Woodley was born in 1991 in Simi Valley, California to Lori and Lonnie Woodley. Her parents were not married and she was raised by her mother and her mother's long-term boyfriend, John. She grew up in Simi Valley, attending Simi Valley High School for her freshman year before transferring to a private K-12 school. This move was made to facilitate Shailene's acting career. Shailene has said that she had a difficult time fitting in at school as a teenager as she felt isolated from the other students and found it difficult to make friends. In September 2007, Shailene's father Lonnie Woodley began an email relationship with a woman named Deborah O'Connell who was later revealed to be a 16-year-old girl. This relationship ended abruptly when she became pregnant.
Does Woodley suffer from depression?
Yes. Her symptoms were first reported in 2013 when she was filming "White Bird in a Blizzard" and her co-star, Eva Swan, stated that she had been suffering from depression for some time. It is unclear if Woodley has taken antidepressants but it is widely believed that she did not consult any doctors as to the cause of her symptoms. She never mentioned the issue again until January 2016 when she wrote, "Struggling with #depression #anxiety #fear and just the 'day to day' of existing can be suffocating.
What causes depression and how widespread is it?
The cause of depression is complex. There are two major theories that attempt to explain the rise in cases. Firstly, there is the 'oil crisis' theory which believes that as the world's population grows, we live longer and this has led to an increase in people suffering from mental illness. Secondly, mental illness tends to be more severe in developed areas such as Japan where poverty co-exists with wealth. Both of these theories have major flaws but it can be seen that both have occurred at the same time in history and therefore must have some correlation with each other.
How widespread is Woodley's condition?
About 1 in 10 people are thought to suffer from depression according to the World Health Organisation. In the US, 5% of people over the age of 18 are thought to have a mental illness. The total number of people suffering from mental illness is higher than this because a lot of those affected suffer in silence due to the stigma surrounding mental health. It is estimated that one person every minute attempts suicide meaning that around 500,000 do so each year.
How is her condition being treated?
She has not officially stated what treatment she is receiving but it is known that Woodley visited Barbara De Angelis, a psychologist and well-known author on spirituality. De Angelis was the first of Woodley's counsellors. Her second counsellor is a hypnotherapist and her third counsellor used to be a Scientology minister. This can be seen as an attempt to find various forms of therapy that suit Woodley and she is using the resources available to her to take care of herself during this period of time at the end of her twenties.
Conclusion
Woodley is an actress who was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in "The Descendants". She has spoken about her depression in the past and although she has been relatively quiet on the matter recently, it is widely believed that she did suffer from the illness in 2017. Her illness is widespread and affects one out of every ten people. It can be treated with a variety of methods and this should be positive for anyone suffering from a mental illness. The stigma surrounding mental illness needs to be broken down and Shailene's example shows that someone can live with a mental illness without it defining their life.
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