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Pete Davidson opens up about therapy and his mental health journey

The comedian and actor is getting support


Jovita Trujillo - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
MARCH 31, 2023 7:06 PM EDT

Pete Davidson is opening up about his mental health journey. The actor recently sat down with Jon Bernthal for his Real Ones podcast, where he talked about his PTSD and borderline personality disorder. TW: Self Harm

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The Staten Island King star said he’s in therapy, “I’ve been doing a lot of therapy like trauma therapy trying to figure out why I think there are obvious reasons why with the PTSD from childhood.”

Davidson and his therapist have linked his PTSD from his childhood when his father, Scott Davidson, a firefighter, died on 9/11. “My therapist and I have agreed on ones as my dad told me he was going to pick me up from school on 9 11. I got picked up by my mom, and she didn’t tell me what was going on for like three days, and she kept telling me, ‘Dad’s at work, coming home’ whatever. I had no idea,” he told Bernthal.

“My mom was like, ‘you’re just grounded you’re not allowed to watch TV,’ and I was like what? I didn’t do anything, and then one night I turned on the TV, and I just saw my dad on TV, and I was like oh okay, and they’re like these are all the firemen that are like dead and all that,” he continued. He said they didn’t know for sure that he was dead for three weeks because there was hope that he could be found alive.

Davidson now struggles with abandonment issues. “I also have BPD and a little PTSD mix which is a borderline personality disorder, and so the definition of that is fear of abandonment. So you know Dad says he’s gonna come and pick you up, but he doesn’t for life I’m just like I don’t believe anyone.”

Since Davidson has been gotten the support he said he stopped self-harming a year ago. The SNL star said he started hitting and cutting himself when he was a kid. He also recommends the DBT dialectical behavi therapy workbook that helps you learn skills to stop.