Kevin Smith opened up about a “completely detached from reality” experience last year that resulted in him being hospitalized in an inpatient mental health facility.
Filmmaker known for writing and directing films like secretary (1994), cardigan girl (2004) and Red State (2011), enrolled at the Sierra Tucson treatment center in Arizona in January 2022 and stayed for a month.
He recalls waking up one morning and experiencing the “scary” feeling that he had lost control of his mind.
“At that point, I wouldn’t be averse to not being around,” Smith said. Everybody.
“I called a friend and said, ‘I’m in a dark, weird place. I need to go somewhere and get help.’”
For years, Smith suppressed painful memories from the age of 6; he was forced by an older boy to perform sexual acts with a young neighbor girl, against his will.
Another aspect of Smith’s vulnerability was due to being teased about his body as a child. The personality behind the comedy duo Jay and Silent Bob’s “Bob” recalls that at the age of 9, a teacher pointed out the size of his “gut” in front of the whole class.
Smith, 52, says: “I feel disgusted, like I don’t matter. “That’s when ‘that guy’ started showing up. I decided to be interesting and make people love me before they noticed I was fat.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, published on Wednesday (April 26), Smith detailed various difficulties that come with opening up about his trauma at the treatment facility.
“Initially, it’s hard to share when someone talks about watching their friend get killed and I think, ‘Wow, my fourth grade teacher told me I’m fat,'” he explains. .
“But I have learned that there is no difference [between levels of trauma] to the human nervous system. Internally, trauma is trauma.
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Talk to independence in November, Smith said he saw the bright side of experiencing a near-fatal heart attack in 2018.
He explained: “After my heart attack, I was like, ‘Now I’m living in borrowed time. “I should act accordingly, so if there’s a certain dream of mine that I’m trying to fulfill, I’d better take action.”
If you are affected by this article, you can contact the following organizations for assistance: mind.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk.
