Shailene Woodley opens up on getting close to 'surrendering' due to health scare

Shailene Woodley, a recognized name in Hollywood, has over the years made a mark for herself in the industry with her talent, resilience and hard work.

However, during the course of her professional path, the actor had to face issues in her personal sphere that threw life into disarray for her.

Opening up to the New York Times about a health scare she faced during her early twenties, The Descendants actor revealed: “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. They went on to a lot of success,” she added.

While she kept her work going despite the health issues, the thought of her career falling prey to it constantly hovered over her mind.

“‘Am I going to survive what I’m going through right now and ever be healthy, or even have the opportunity to work on projects I’m passionate about again because of the situation I’m in?’ ” she said harking back to that time.

“I was in a place where I had no choice but to just surrender and let go of my career, and it brought out this negative voice in my mind that kept spinning for years and years afterward,” she continued.

As luck would have it, those days are now a thing of the past as the actor continues to make her mark on the industry with her acting prowess.

“Now I’m on the other side of it, thank God. A lot of the last few years has been about focusing on mental health for me, and it’s a slow process. But because of that work, I feel very grounded and rooted in who I am and very clear about everything in my life, whether it’s my career or my relationships or my own internal worth,” she said.

“I feel very grateful to have walked that line of fire because now I know what I don’t want to ever go back to,” she added.