Note: The following article contains discussion of themes including suicide.

Alan Ritchson opens up about past suicide attemptMark Von Holden/Variety – Getty Images
Reacher star Alan Ritchson has opened up about his suicide attempt prior to being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

In an in-depth interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he spoke about how the messy demise of a business he owned led to a decline in his mental health several years ago.

“It really broke me in that moment and it took me a while to recover. I was super depressed and didn’t know how to navigate that,” he said.

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“I was reeling from the fallout and the fatigue, and it got to the point where I was stuck in bed for weeks. My wife and kids were concerned, and I could see confusion in their eyes. No one knew what was wrong.”

He explained that in 2019, after a difficult few months, he attempted to take his own life.

Ritchson shared what saved him was a vision from the future from his three sons. They convinced him not to take his own life and, as a result, he managed to end his attempt before he blacked out.

He said: “They calmly asked me not to do it and told me that they wanted me to be here, alive and part of their lives.”

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After his suicide attempt, he immediately reached out to his doctor and was soon diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Though Ritchson explained it took him a while to accept this diagnosis — and he initially stormed out of the doctor’s office — he noted that it helped explained his feelings and periods of mania.

He said: “Deep down, I was comforted to know, ‘OK, there’s a name for this’, I walked back in his office and he didn’t miss a beat. I’m sure he’d had like 300 patients over the years do the exact same thing.”