Shailene Woodley says she couldn’t ‘walk for longer than 5 minutes’ as she opens up about health scare

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Shailene Woodley recalled a painful period of her life when she struggled with health issues in her early 20s that restricted her movement apart from affecting her hearing. 

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ actress, 32, recently appeared on the Tuesday, September 24, episode of the ‘She MD’ podcast where she candidly opened up about her secret illness that left her feeling helpless in her younger years. 

The actress further shared that at one point, she could not walk for five minutes without taking a rest immediately.

Shailene Woodley gets candid about her health struggles

Shailene Woodley, who previously did not divulge much of her health battle to her fans, shared during the podcast, “I haven’t spoken about what exactly it was because that just feels like a personal thing that I don’t need to disclose,” per OK! Magazine. 

“But essentially, I was in a position in my early 20s,” candidly shared the ‘Allegiant’ actress before adding, “It got to the point where I was losing my hearing.”

The actress not only started losing her hearing but also faced trouble with walking. 

“I couldn’t walk for longer than five minutes at a time without having to lay down for hours and hours and hours and sleep,” Woodley shared. 

She further continued to narrate her issues with food as she revealed, “Everything I ate hurt my stomach.”

Woodley shared that as she was struggling with various complications, she was also left further confused by the “independent healers” who were treating her. 

“It was this conflation of issues and diagnoses and different doctors telling me different things,” shared the actress. 

The ‘Adrift’ actress continued, “I come from a very holistic background and studied herbalism so I was really keen on, ‘Alright I’m gonna work with real MDs and I’m gonna work with independent healers.’”

“And I was just trying to search for some sense of comfort in my own skin. It was a long journey. And throughout that decade, a lot of other things came from feeling so much discomfort physically,” added the star. 

Woodley continued to chronicle her mental struggle as she shared her condition rendered her afraid of food. 

“And then going into the mental f**king that can happen with that — of body dysmorphia and confusion about identity and feeling safe in my own capsule," admitted Woodley. 

Nevertheless, following her struggle, she regained her health finally as she explained, “It was a journey that ultimately physically resolved itself.”

“I am very healthy. I’m so happy to be able to say that,” shared the star, before adding, “And also, it forced me to really take a deep look and become introspective.”

“That was the path for me, alongside the physical healing — was acknowledging the mental side of the healing process for myself. Which involved looking at real traumas and real PTSD that I had experienced at various times in my life — without going into detail about what they were — they definitely took a toll on my body," concluded the actress.

Shailene Woodley previously shared she declined several projects because of her health

While this is the first time that ‘Big Little Lies’ star Shailene Woodley opened up in detail about her health condition, she has touched upon the subject before. 

In July 2021, ‘The Last Letter from Your Lover’ actress talked about her condition to The Hollywood Reporter for a cover story. 

Woodley shared, "It was pretty debilitating. I said no to a lot of projects, not because I wanted to but because I physically couldn't participate in them," per People.

"And I definitely suffered a lot more than I had to because I didn't take care of myself,” she added before continuing, “The self-inflicted pressure of not wanting to be helped or taken care of created more physical unrest throughout those years."

At that time, the actress shared, "I'm on the tail end of it, which is very exciting, but it's an interesting thing, going through something so physically dominating while also having so many people pay attention to the choices you make, the things you say, what you do, what you look like.”

Opening up about her health’s effects on her mind, she admitted, “It spun me out for a while," and added, "You feel so incredibly isolated and alone."

"Unless someone can see that you have a broken arm or a broken leg, it's really difficult for people to relate to the pain that you're experiencing when it's a silent, quiet and invisible pain,” explained the star.