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Ashley Judd reveals that she did a 47-day stint in February at a Texas treatment center to overcome lifelong emotional problems.
"I needed help," Judd says in Glamour's August issue, which arrives on stands July 11. "I was in so much pain."
Therapy has been a life-altering experience, she says, adding that she was dealing with depression, isolation and co-dependent relationships.
With a "chaotic" and "dysfunctional" childhood, Judd, 38, says she compensated by becoming a "hyper-vigilant child" who was faultless in every way.
She attended 13 schools in 12 years and alternately lived with her mother, Grammy-winning country singer/songwriter Naomi Judd; her father, Michael Ciminella; and her grandparents.
"Supposedly, my sister (Wynonna, also a Grammy winner) was the 'messed-up' one, and I was the 'perfect' one."
During a family visit to Shades of Hope Treatment Center in Buffalo Gap, Texas, where Wynonna, 42, was being treated for food addiction, the De-Lovely and Come Early Morning actress was approached by counselors about treatment after emotional problems became apparent.
"They said, 'No one ever does an intervention on people like you. You look too good. You're too smart and together. But you (and Wynonna) come from the same family, so you come from the same wound.' No one had validated my pain before," Judd says.
Tabloid reports that the actress was being treated for eating disorders are not true, she says, "though I did take a look at my eating. Why wouldn't I? I looked at everything else in my life under a microscope."
Judd learned that she was using sleep to deal with uncomfortable feelings and that her habit of wiping down plastic surfaces on planes and hotels was all about control. "Now I try to remind myself that if I engage in perfectionism, I am abusing myself."
The effects of her treatment are profound, she says, and has improved her friendships and her 4 1/2-year marriage to racecar driver Dario Franchitti, 33.
"I was unhappy, and now I'm happy. Now, even when I'm having a rough day, it's better than my best day before treatment."
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