Terry Crews Reveals How Therapy Helped Him When He Hit 'Rock Bottom'

Terry Crews has therapy to thank for helping him come back to life when he hit "rock bottom."

Speaking to Amy Morin on the "Verywell Mind Podcast," the former NFL player and current host of "America's Got Talent" explained how he had to turn to therapy after he found himself "at rock bottom," with "no other choice."

"For almost my first 40 years on Earth, [toughness] was a battle to get up the earliest, to work the longest, to do the most work. And then I wore myself out," the 53-year-old said of his mindset earlier in life.

Since he spent years chasing success, he felt like he was broken down by the "grind" mentality, something that is commonly found in the fields of professional sports and entertainment, reported ET Canada.

"This grind will eat you up alive. It's literally a grinder. And if you have that mindset, it will totally take you out in a lot of ways and you'll be over it before you think you're started. But it can really, really eat you up," he added.

"I had to redefine what toughness was. Toughness used to be the ability to throw punches. But now in my revelation, it's really the ability to take things, and to really endure the right way and to really just understand your weaknesses, understand your strengths and the wisdom to know the difference in a lot of ways," he continued.

For Crews, redefining toughness meant seeking help. Though he did go for therapy and credits it as "life-saving," he also had to get rid of his preconceived notions about the practice.

"The obstacle was therapy itself. In my community and where I grew up, it was therapy [that] was seen as quackery. And actually doing something to really talk through your own issues, thinking about your own thinking was viewed as quackery," he explained.

But when Crews was at one of the lowest points in his life, it was a friend who actually convinced him to go for therapy.

"He said, 'Terry I can't promise you you're going to get your wife and family back but you've got to get better for you,'" he recalled. "That was [a] watershed [moment] … because I did everything in my life for rewards. Everything in my life was based on, if I do this, I'm supposed to get this. If I did this, I'm supposed to get this trophy. I'm supposed to get this money. If I do this, I get sex. If I do this, I get fame."

Despite getting all his rewards, it left him feeling empty.

"I got the car. I got the house. I got the wife, I got this. And then you point all these things out and intrinsically, you were hollow. And I was hollow. And finally, I was at rock bottom. My wife was gone. My family was gone. And I had no other choice. That whole phrase about you getting better for you meant therapy," Crews said.