(Photo by Beth Gwinn/Getty Images)
Last week, shortly after announcing the death of mother Naomi Judd, Ashley Judd revealed that her mother had died of suicide after years of mental health troubles. Today we learn how.
“She used a weapon. My mother used a firearm,” Ashley told Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” Thursday. “So that’s the piece of information we are very uncomfortable sharing.”
Ashley also revealed that she was the one who found her mother dead.
“It was a mixed day,” she recalled. “I visit with my mom and pop every day when I’m home in Tennessee, so I was at the house … and Mom said to me, ‘Will you stay with me?’ And I said, ‘Of course I will.’
“I went upstairs to let her know that [her] friend was there, and I discovered her. I have both grief and trauma from discovery.”
Ashley, 54, explained that her family put her in charge of sharing details about her late mother’s suicide at age 76 in order to shine a light on mental health.
“When we’re talking about mental illness, it’s very important to be clear and to make the distinction between the loved one and the disease,” she said, adding, “My mother knew that she was seen and she was heard in her anguish, and she was walked home.”
MENTAL HEALTH IS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF OR TO BE IGNORED!
No one can understand what you’re going through, but if you feel like you are on the edge, PLEASE, before doing anything, reach out to ONE person. Anyone. Someone you trust. Not because your family and friends will miss you, but because if there is a way, you deserve to live a happy healthy life.