Kirsten Dunst Opens Up About Awful Rehab Experience

USMagazine, Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 1:44pm (PST)

Two years after she checked herself into the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Utah, Kirsten Dunst is ready to talk about about her struggle with depression.

"I know what it's like to lose yourself, to no longer know the difference between right or wrong," Dunst, 28, tells the December 2010/January 2011 issue of BlackBook.

According to the actress, coming to terms with her own personal demons allowed her to more fully embody her character in "All Good Things" (in theaters December 9)."I was ready to play something like that," she explains. "I had been living life on the surface, emotionally, and I was feeling really vulnerable, so I was prepared to do anything at that point.'"

Still, Dunst admits that the attention surrounding her 2008 rehab stint made her wary about getting back into the spotlight -- particularly because she was falsely accused of seeking treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.

"I used to assume that I'd [continue acting] forever, and then there came a point in my life when I was like, 'Why am I doing this at all?'" she recalls. Once she checked into the Cirque Lodge, "My friends and family were put in a position where they had to defend me, and it was an awful time."

So why did the actress, who is currently dating Rilo Kiley drummer Jason Boesel, decide to finally share her story?

"On a personal level, I would talk to anybody about it, but not on a public level," Dunst explains. "If I do that, then the next person feels like they can ask me about it, and the person after that, until everyone then feels entitled to ask me about it, and that’s not coming from a good place."

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