In a very honest conversation, Shailene Woodley revealed that in her early twenties, she was struggling with a serious medical health condition that doctors couldn’t diagnose.
The Big Little Lies actress, 32, revealed that while filming the Divergent franchise that was released between 2014 and 2016, she was suffering from a debilitating illness.
The actress revealed that suffered from not only hearing loss, but several other symptoms including hypothyroidism, fainting, food sensitivities, PTSD, and trauma responses.
‘I haven’t spoken about what exactly it was, because that feels like a personal thing that I don’t need to disclose,’ the actress revealed.
‘But essentially, I was in a position in my early 20s. It got to the point where I was losing my hearing. I couldn’t walk for longer than five minutes at a time without having to lay down for hours and hours and hours and sleep. Everything I ate hurt my stomach.’
‘It was this conflation of issues and diagnoses and different doctors telling me different things,’ she told Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi and influencer Mary Alice Haney on She MD podcast.
While filming the first Divergent movie, Shailene would have been 22 and by the time the franchise ended with the third movie, she was 26.
The actress revealed that it took almost a decade for her to get healthy again, after struggling with traditional medical diagnoses.
‘I come from a very holistic background and studied herbalism so I was really keen on, “Alright I’m gonna work with real MDs and I’m gonna work with independent healers.” And I was just trying to search for some sense of comfort in my own skin. It was a long journey. About a decade of unwinding and healing and getting healthy.’
She then revealed that her illness sparked other issues: ‘Throughout that decade a lot of other things came from feeling so much discomfort physically, which was “My gosh, if everything I’m eating hurts my stomach, I’m now suddenly afraid of food”.’
‘And then going into the mental f***ery that can happen with that – of body dysmorphia and confusion about identity and feeling safe in my own capsule. In my own skin and what that meant,’ she said revealing the psychological effects of the illness.
‘It was a journey that ultimately psychically resolved itself and I got, I am very healthy -I’m so happy to be able to say that.’
During the discussion, she revealed that he physical illness led her to become more ‘introspective’ and learn more about how mental trauma had affected her body.
‘And also, it forced me to really take a deep look and become introspective. That was, I guess, the path for me, alongside the physical healing, was acknowledging the mental side of the healing process for myself, which involved looking at real traumas and real PTSD that I had experienced at various times in my life, without going into detail about what they were. They definitely took a toll on my body.
She revealed that she was ‘passing out’ every time she got her period during the ordeal. ‘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? Why am I all of these things?”‘
She revealed she was given conflicting advice about her reproductive organs and was told she had a tilted uterus, endometriosis, and a heart-shaped uterus. After losing faith in doctors she decided to educate herself on her health.
‘And so, 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.
She then revealed: ‘And now, I mean, I’m not on thyroid medication anymore. I’m not in any medication anymore. My hormones are so balanced. Everything is pumping in the way that it should.
In 2020, the actress hinted at having an illness in her twenties. She told The New York Times that her health issues led to her having to reject roles.
‘I haven’t spoken much about this yet publicly, and I will one day, but I was very, very sick in my early 20s. While I was doing the Divergent movies and working hard, I also was struggling with a deeply personal, very scary physical situation.
‘Because of that, I said no to a lot of opportunities because I needed to get better, and those jobs ended up going to peers of mine who I love.’