Country music star Naomi Judd is opening up about her lifelong battle with mental illness.
“What I’ve been through is extreme,” the 70-year-old singer said in an interview that aired Tuesday on Good Morning America. “My final diagnosis was severe depression.”
Judd wrote about her struggles for a new book, River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope.
“I want someone to be able to see that they can survive because there are 40 million of us out there,” she said.
Judd explained that her appearance and tremors are the result of medication — physical changes that has kept her out of the public eye for several years.
“[Fans] see me in rhinestones, you know, with glitter in my hair,” she said.
“But then I would come home and not leave the house for three weeks, and not get out of my pyjamas, and not practice normal hygiene. It was really bad.”
In her book, Judd reveals that she was molested by an uncle when she was a child.
“I never acknowledged all the bad stuff that people did to me,” she said. “Nobody was there for me.”
Although she remains close to actress-daughter Ashley Judd, she’s “a little estranged” from her other daughter — and former musical partner — Wynonna Judd.
“I love her, but sometimes we just need a break from one another,” said Judd. “And that happens with mothers-daughters.”
Watch the interview below: