Jared Padalecki On His Breakdown: ‘It Was Humbling’
Proving that no one is invincible, Supernatural star Jared Padalecki is back in action after a much publicized breakdown forced Jared to take a vacation that was long overdue. It’s no secret to Padalecki’s fans and admirers that the Supernatural star has been battling bouts of depression in his recent past or that Jared has used his celebrity status to help promote mental illness awareness.
Several weeks ago, Padalecki’s battle against depression came to a head, while he was touring conventions in support of Supernatural with co-star Jensen Ackles. Midway through Mr. Padalecki’s list of scheduled appearances, Jared abruptly returned home. The move alarmed fans and a cryptic tweet from Jared saying that he was in “desperate and urgent need” only served to worry fans that much more.
As it turns out, much of what ailed Jared was cured by a much needed vacation from the hectic schedule he had placed upon himself, and after that short break, Jared jumped back into the swing of things on June 6 with an appearance at ATX Television Festival’s Gilmore Girls reunion panel.
“It’s been amazing. I did reboot. I did have a chance to reboot, and it was amazing,” Padalecki said in a US Weekly interview.
Jared explained that things really came to a head for him in May, just as he was about to appear to fans at JIBCON (Jus In Bello Convention). Those close to Padalecki, including his manager, came forward at the time to explain that Jared had just been pushing himself too hard in recent months.
“I was 17 years old when I moved to Los Angeles, and I just kind of got into a habit…Everything was like, work, work, work, work, do, do, do, do,” Padalecki said, adding further explanation to statements made by his manager. “And the last summer, my life has changed a lot. I have a wife. I have two sons, [Shepherd and Thomas], and so I really needed a chance to just unplug. And it was the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ll probably do it every year.”
As the addition of a family and mounting responsibilities connected with Supernatural began to weigh on him, Jared came to the realization that he had never taken care of himself the way he should have and it had come to the point where Padalecki needed to take that break, regardless of his commitments. It was essential to his emotional well-being.
“You find out you’re finite. And for a guy like me who’s really Type A, put me to work, give me more, do more! It’s difficult to admit that you’re a finite individual, right? But it was humbling, and I’m very proud I got to do it.”
In spite of earlier rumors, Jared Padalecki will be returning for Supernatural‘s 11th season, when the hit show premieres in October.
[Featured image: Jared Padalecki courtesy of Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]
