Kevin Smith Spent 1 Month in Treatment Facility for Childhood Sexual Abuse and Weight Shaming

etonline.com:

Kevin Smith is revealing for the first time that he spent one month at a treatment facility to address memories that he said put him «in a weird, dark place.» And it was at that moment when he said he knew he needed to get help.The famed director opened up like never before about his mental health struggles, telling  he woke up one morning last January in «terror» and he was convinced he was losing his mind.

At the center of his mental health struggles was a traumatizing episode at six years old when he said he was sexually abused when an older boy he didn't know forced him to perform sexual acts with a young neighborhood girl.Smith told the outlet he was convinced that they «were just playing doctor in an alleyway,» but it was his therapist who opened his eyes.«When a third party is instructing you to do something against your core values like that,» Smith recalled the therapist telling him, «that's sexual abuse.»There was another incident Smith recalled that proved traumatizing, and that was a teacher fat-shaming him when he was just nine years old and made fun of his «gut» in front of the entire class.«I felt disgusting, like I didn't matter.

That's when 'the other guy' started to appear,» he said. «I decided to be entertaining and make people love me before they noticed I was fat.»The director/writer/star would eventually find his way to Arizona, where he checked himself into the Sierra Tucson treatment center and sought intense therapy to deal with the severe childhood traumas, but not before calling a friend and being vulnerable about his struggles.«At that moment, I wouldn't have been averse to not being around any longer,» he said. «I called a friend and said, 'I'm in a weird, dark place.