Shailene Woodley opens up about decade-long health struggle
The 2014 film "Divergent" catapulted Shailene Woodley to the heights of popularity. Today, the actress reflects on that time, which turned out to be dramatic. It took her a long time to discover the truth about what was happening to her body.
The actress, also known for her roles in "Big Little Lies" and "The Fault in Our Stars," spoke about her difficult experiences on the medical podcast "She MD." She revealed that on the set of the hit series over 10 years ago, she began to lose her hearing and had difficulty walking.
“I was losing my hearing, I couldn't walk for long periods of time without having to lay down for hours and hours and sleep,” recalled Woodley.
A difficult diagnosis
During her conversation with hosts Mary Alice Haney and Dr. Thais Aliabadi, she admitted that diagnosing her symptoms was a challenge.
“I’ve always eaten very healthy and I’m very athletic,” she said. “And so, it was a confusing process for me to go, ‘Well, what am I doing wrong? Why am I passing out every month when I get my period? Why am I hypothyroid?”
Woodley described how different doctors gave her different diagnoses, which only deepened her confusion. She shared that one doctor suspected endometriosis, while another had a different diagnosis, and yet another mentioned a uterine abnormality. Receiving conflicting information led her to begin her journey of discovery.
Amid such significant discomfort and the constant signals from her body that something was wrong, the actress also experienced many mental health problems. “If everything I’m eating hurts my stomach, I’m now suddenly afraid of food. And then going into the mental f--kery that can happen with that—of body dysmorphia and confusion about identity and feeling safe in my own capsule,” Woodley confessed.
A holistic approach
Her health problems led her to deeply introspect her psyche and work on both her physical and mental health. “It forced me to really take a deep look and become introspective (...) looking at real traumas and real PTSD that I had experienced,” she added.
She spent nearly a decade rebuilding her health. She recalled: “Every person I went to was giving me mixed information. (...) I might as well take this into my own hands and devote myself to educating myself about so many subjects and approaching it from an internal holistic place. My hormones are so balanced. Everything is pumping in the way that it should,” she concluded on the podcast.
You can watch the film "Divergent" on Prime Video, Canal+, and TVPVod. Woodley's latest title is the thriller "Killer Heat," where she starred alongside Richard Madden and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
