John Candy Dealt with 'Crippling Chronic Anxiety,' Went to Therapy to 'Understand What Was Happening to Him'

As his profession soared, nan unit of being John Candy really started to measurement heavy connected him. 

By 1991, Candy was a successful movie prima and co-owner of a Canadian Football League team. On nan outside, he was connected apical of nan world. In reality, he was fighting invisible battles.

“We talked a batch astir his psychological wellness and nan pressures that he had and was trying to study what caused that successful his life,” friend Kelvin Pruenster said successful nan caller documentary John Candy: I Like Me.

In nan documentary, friends and family candidly said astir nan struggles Candy went done successful nan last years of his life. In airports and connected movie sets, he suffered panic attacks. 

“He started to person crippling chronic anxiety. He would person it for nan full day,” Pruenster said, adding that uneasiness sometimes kept nan character from sleeping. “He really suffered and needed to find retired what it was about, and did not want to spell nan medicine route. He wanted to understand what was happening to him.” 

In airports, he suffered panic attacks arsenic fans mobbed him for pictures and autographs. 

“He was successful therapy. He would stock pinch maine what he learned astir nan guidelines of worry and what causes it,” Pruenster said. “People don’t talk astir it, but truthful galore group suffer from it.”

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Candy’s son, Christopher, went into curen for himself arsenic a nonstop consequence of his father’s struggles.

“I grew up pinch personification who was already a successful actor, who had made it. The point that was truthful large and specified a large concealed was that he didn’t judge successful himself,” his boy says successful nan doc, later adding, “People support their therapy private, aliases they utilized to, astatine least, and now a batch of group talk astir it, but I’m very honored to opportunity that my begetter is nan logic that I’ve been successful treatment. I’ve been capable to activity connected myself because he went into therapy.” 

Steve Martin, who starred other Candy successful Planes, Trains and Automobiles, said he worried astir his pal’s health. Rose Candy, nan Uncle Buck star’s wife, said she often worried astir nan accent connected his heart, chiefly owed to nan actor’s ample frame. 

When it came to changing his lifestyle, though, Candy wasn’t ever ready. Eugene Levy recalled nan Home Alone actor disassociating from a friend who worried astir his weight.

“I retrieve John going done doctors for illustration cigarettes,” friend Dave Thomas said successful nan documentary. “A expert would show him, ‘You gotta suffer weight, you gotta extremity drinking.’ John didn’t want to perceive that.”

Candy died successful 1994 astatine 43 aft suffering a bosom attack.

John Candy: I Like Me premieres connected Amazon Prime connected October 10.