Jared Padalecki says he sought treatment after experiencing suicidal ideation in 2015, amid “Supernatural” success.
In a recent appearance on Tommy DiDario’s podcast “I’ve Never Said This Before,” published Tuesday, Padalecki recalled how dark thoughts led him to a “really low moment.” He said he confided in his wife, Genevieve, who advised him to “get home.”
“So, I got home, went to a clinic for a couple weeks and looked into it,” Padalecki said. “And I haven’t been suicidal since. Not for a moment.”
Padalecki said on DiDario’s podcast that he still deals with “highs and lows” but leans on his family and friends for support. He urged fans to “please be open, please share, please find somebody, whether it’s a friend or a professional and speak your truth.”
Padalecki previously detailed his mental health struggles in a March 2015 interview with Variety. At the time, he was launching a T-shirt campaign to benefit To Write Love on Her Arms, a nonprofit organization supporting people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.
He told Variety that a doctor first informed him he may have clinical depression after he experienced a breakdown while filming Season 3 of “Supernatural.” He said he struggled to understand how that could happen.
“I had dogs that I loved and tons of friends and I was getting adoration from fans and I was happy with my work, but I couldn’t figure out what it was; it doesn’t always make sense is my point,” he told the trade. “It’s not just people who can’t find a job, or can’t fit in in society that struggle with depression sometimes.”
In May 2015, two months after that article ran, Padalecki canceled appearances at fan conferences, writing on what was then Twitter that he was in “desperate and urgent need of my family” and needed to go home.
His manager explained in a statement at the time that Padalecki had “pushed himself to his limits” and was “suffering from exhaustion.”
Two months later, a refreshed Padalecki appeared at Comic-Con in San Diego, where more than 6,000 fans held up electric candles in his honor, a gesture that moved him to tears. The clip is worth watching.
