Goldie Hawnhas achieved success in her career as an Academy Award-winning actress, but long before her days of Hollywood fame, she says she was just your average girl struggling with anxiety.
“I lived with anxiety as a little girl,” Hawn, 73, told the audience. “I thought the Russians were going to bomb us. I thought I could die without ever kissing a boy. I suffered anxiety every time I heard a siren.”
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She went on to say her fears never completely subsided, even as she began performing on the NBC comedyRowan & Martin’s Laugh In.
Hawn added, “I suffered for about a year…[then] I took charge and saw a doctor,” she added. “But that was the time when I was 21 and I realized that I had a mind, that I was going to fix that mind and I was going to make sure I knew and understood everything that was happening and why it was happening.”
After seeking the needed help for her anxiety, there was one goal in Hawn’s life she was always focused on achieving: Happiness. She says she finally gained it after discovering meditation.
“I went for meditation because it was the thing to do, and when I did, it was like I can’t ever explain to you—it was the most joyful experience I’ve ever had,” she said. “I felt like I returned back to my deepest part, to my heart, to my joy. It just hit this seed of joy that I always had as a young girl. Because all I ever wanted to be was happy. That was my goal.”
In addition to celebrating Hawn and the other award recipients for their work in mental health awareness, Child Mind Institute is launching it’s 3rd annual#MyYoungerSelfcampaign, which includes actors likeGillian Anderson,Ray RomanoandIsaac Mizrahisharing personalvideosof advice to their younger selves.
Hawn’s foundation, The Goldie Hawn Foundation, has introduced a neuroscience based program called Mind Up, which gives children the knowledge and tools they need to manage stress, regulate emotions and face the challenges of the 21st century with optimism, resilience and compassion. Hawn has found it to be one of the program’s greatest achievements yet.
“It’s amazing, these kids are able to manage their stress,” she told PEOPLE before accepting her award. “They realize their thinking is what creates their formality, so knowing how your brain works is such an asset. It’s like, ‘Oh my God, that’s my muscle I know how to work it.’”
“That’s what we are giving kids. It isn’t just medicine or mediation,” she added. “It calms them down, and that is everything. And they are in control. I just want to see kids smile and live safely.”
source: people.com
