Oprah Winfrey Speaks About Understanding Source Of Her Mental Health Struggles

Oprah Winfrey recently got candid about her mental health in a virtual discussion with her co-author Dr. Bruce Perry for the Mental Health Coalition's "1-2-1" series.

During her conversation with Perry, they talked about their new book "What Happened to You?" and how Winfrey continues to work through her mental health struggles by reflecting on her past.

"I started thinking about what happened to me in my life to make me who I am," Winfrey, 67, was quoted by People as saying. "Why do I have the fears [and] the apprehensions that I carried for a long time? That question is invaluable for anybody who is interested in self-evolvement [and] self-awareness."

According to Perry, understanding one's past is an important step in understanding mental health. Winfrey added that those who were unable to have their "needs met at an early age" had brains that formed "differently" than those who did.

"What I had learned is if you didn't get what you need at that age, you spend your life searching for that thing based upon what happened [to you]," she said. "Or, as Bruce says in our book, What Happened to You?, it's what happened to you and [it's] equally as important as what didn't happen to you."

According to the media mogul, their book isn't about placing blame but rather helping readers have a "better understanding" of their behaviors, so they can use their knowledge to overcome their struggles and move forward.

"In my case, why [do] you have this disease to please?" Winfrey said. "Why [do[ you have a problem in confrontation? Or why [are you] so confrontational?"

When Winfrey made an appearance on "The Dr. Oz Show" in April, she shared a terrifying childhood experience that has made her feel unsafe while sleeping. Apparently, Winfrey witnessed a traumatic encounter involving her grandparents.

"My grandmother and I slept in the bed together. My grandfather was in a room on the other side of the wall and one night in the middle of the night, my grandfather gets out of bed and comes into the room," Winfrey recalled. "And I wake up and he has his hands around my grandmother's neck and she is screaming."

Winfrey's grandmother managed to push his grandfather and they stepped over him, she recalled. They ran into the front door and went to the house of an old blind man who lived down the road and whom they called Cousin Henry.

"And after that my grandmother put a chair underneath the doorknob and some tin cans around the chair. And that is how we slept every night. I'm sleeping, I always slept with, listening for the cans. Listening for what happens if that doorknob moves," she continued.

Winfrey and Perry's book "What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing" was released on April 27.