Shailene Woodley opens up about ‘scary’ mystery health issue on Divergent set

Shailene Woodley has spoken candidly about a “scary” and mysterious health issue she experienced in her early 20s on the set of the Divergent franchise.

The 32-year-old actress, who will play legendary musician Janis Joplin, appeared in the SHE MD podcast with gynecologist Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi and influencer Mary Alice Haney on Tuesday as she spoke about her health scare.

Shailene spoke about her experiences while filming the hugely popular science fiction series, where she struggled with many difficult issues including: hearing loss, hypothyroidism, fainting, food intolerances, PTSD and trauma reactions.

While she didn’t fully reveal what the issue was, she spoke openly about what she had been through, as she explained: “Yes. I can talk about it in a kind of abstraction. I haven’t said what it was exactly because that just feels like something personal that I don’t have to reveal.

“But essentially I was in a position in my early 20s. It got to the point where I was losing my hearing. I couldn’t walk for more than five minutes at a time without having to lie down and sleep for hours and hours and hours. Everything I ate hurt my stomach. It was this conflation of issues and diagnoses and different doctors telling me different things. And I come from a very holistic background and studied herbal medicine.”

Shailene explained that in addition to “independent healers,” she also worked with real doctors to get to the root of her issues.

She continued, “And it was a long journey, about a decade of relaxing and healing and getting healthy. And during that decade, a lot of other things came out of feeling so much physical discomfort, namely, oh my gosh, when everything I eat hurts my stomach, now I’m suddenly afraid of food.

“And then, the mental chaos that can arise from body dysmorphia and confusion about identity and feeling safe in my own capsule, in my own skin, and what that meant and what that was supposed to be.”

The actress explained that the issue eventually resolved itself physically and she is now healthy.

She continued, “I’m so happy to be able to say that. And it also forced me to really look deep and become introspective.

“That was, I think, the path for me, in addition to the physical recovery, was acknowledging the mental side of the recovery process. That involved looking at real traumas and real PTSD that I had experienced at different points in my life, without going into the details of what those were.”

Shailene said that despite always eating healthy and exercising, the process still took its toll on her body.

She explained, “And so it was a confusing process for me to think, ‘Well, what am I doing wrong? Why do I pass out every month when I get my period? Why am I hypothyroid? Why do I have all these things?’

Shailene opened up about what she went through while filming the hugely popular sci-fi franchise, as she faced many difficult issues including: hearing loss, hypothyroidism, fainting, food allergies, PTSD, and trauma reactions

Shailene (seen in New York earlier this month) then explained that she worked with real doctors, as well as “independent healers,” to get to the root of her issues.

“And one doctor, this is separate from what I’ve been through in my 20s, but specifically about the reproductive and female cycle of everything. One doctor said, ‘It’s probably endometriosis.’

‘And another doctor said, “It’s probably this.” And another one said, “It’s probably that.” “You have a tilted uterus. You have a heart-shaped uterus. You have a uterus that…”‘

She said that everyone she consulted had a different opinion, which forced her to become more independent.

Shailene continued, “And so I might as well take this into my own hands and dedicate myself to educating myself on so many topics and approaching it from an internal holistic place. And now, I mean, I’m off thyroid medication. I’m off medications. My hormones are so balanced. Everything is pumping like it should be.

“And I think ultimately the thing that led me there, besides, again, the physical aspects, was the recognition that I was in a constant state of fight or flight. My nervous system was super sympathetic and just very much operating from a place of fear and a place of where’s the lion in the room.

“And I was constantly approaching every moment with great alertness and with red flags, because I had not yet determined what a calm nervous system could look like and what true safety within myself could look like. And when I focused on that and became really committed and disciplined in that practice, everything physically began to change and come into balance.”

In April 2020, Shailene spoke openly about her struggles for the first time in an interview with The New York Times: ‘I haven’t spoken about it much in public yet, but I will at some point. I was very ill in my early twenties.’

The actress didn’t give details about what exactly happened, but explained, “While I was doing the Divergent films and working hard, I was also struggling with a very personal, very scary physical situation.”

She played the role of Tris in the 2014 dystopian blockbuster, followed by the sequel Insurgent in 2015 and Allegiant in 2016

Shailene (seen in New York earlier this month) also spoke about sex when she said, ‘Yeah, I’m a very sexual person. I always have been. And I was very fortunate in my life as a person who was discovering myself and my body, to have a partner at that time who loved to dance. I always call it a dance. I’m like, “It’s a dance. We’re exchanging energy.”‘

She played the role of Tris in the 2014 dystopian blockbuster, followed by the sequel Insurgent in 2015 and Allegiant in 2016.

A fourth film, Ascendant, would be the second part of a two-part adaptation of Allegiant and was scheduled to hit theaters in 2017.

It was later announced that the fourth film would be a TV movie, which would lead to a spin-off series. However, that did not happen.

Shailene also talked about sex in her SHE MD podcast interview.

She said, ‘Yeah, I’m a very sexual person. I always have been. And I was very fortunate in my life as a person who was discovering myself and my body, to have a partner at that time who loved to dance. I always call it a dance. I think, “It’s a dance. We’re exchanging energy.”

“Sometimes the dance is a really fast tango and sometimes the dance is a really slow groove and sometimes it’s loud and sometimes it’s really soft. And I had someone who helped me discover myself because there was a sense of comfort together. And I think I probably did the same for him.”