Brad Pitt – A Different Side
Brad Pitt is opening up about his struggle with mental health and addiction. He also says that more men should be doing the same.
While doing the rounds to promote his upcoming drama called Ad Astra, Pitt talked about his own journey towards sobriety. As he said in an interview with the New York Times, Pitt spent a year-and-a-half in Alcoholic Anonymous after his very public breakup with actress and film producer/director Angelina Jolie.
“I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges,” Pitt told the Times.
Pitt went on to say that he ended up going an AA group made up entirely of men. The Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star shared that he was especially appreciative of this group because it taught him an important lesson about vulnerability.
“You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard,” the actor said. “It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself.”
And thankfully for Pitt, that vulnerability was met with a group of kind-hearted souls who listened, responded, and didn’t betray his trust (by going to a tabloid with what they heard, or something).
“It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself,” he said. “There’s great value in that.”
Related: How To Deal With Anxiety, According To Bill Hader
Vulnerability
This mirrors words shared last week by singer Harry Styles. Styles shared that he used to feel a lot of pressure in being a celebrity and being a singer. But, now he has found a tight group of male friends that he can be vulnerable with. And that has made his life all the better.
“I feel pretty lucky to have a group of friends who are guys who would talk about their emotions and be really open,” Styles shared. “My friend’s dad said to me, ‘You guys are so much better at it than we are. I never had friends I could really talk to. It’s good that you guys have each other because you talk about real shit. We just didn’t.’”
So it seems that more men should find other men that they can open up to and be vulnerable with. It will only make men stronger and more capable human beings. And that would ultimately make for a better world.
h/t: The New York Times, Men’s Health
