Ashley Judd Says Her ‘Epic Headaches’ Were Misdiagnosed for 8 Years: ‘All That Suffering Unnecessarily'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ashley Judd in 2018.Photo:Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Ashley Juddis sharing details about her health journey as she searched for the cause of her chronic headaches.

On Wednesday, Oct. 9, ahead of Mental Health Day (Oct.10), Judd, 56, posted a lengthy letter onInstagramabout how she had finally received treatment for her headaches, which had been misdiagnosed for eight years.

“As we mark #WorldMentalHealthDay this week, I wanted to share an update with you all on my own health journey. Xx,” Judd’s caption read.

“What happened was that I discovered, through an auspicious friendship, that my headaches had been misdiagnosed for eight years,” the actress’ post read. “Which meant that for those eight miserable years I had been treated, at some of our finest medical institutions, with medications for a type of headache that I do not have.”

She continued, “What a staggering revelation! To know that I had gone through all that suffering unnecessarily because all the solutions prescribed were doomed to fail, has been profoundly disillusioning.”

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Ashley Judd in 2019.Mike Coppola/Getty

Mike Coppola/Getty

TheDouble Jeopardystar added, “Head pain is intermittent these days. My hope is renewed.”

Judd went on to express her gratitude for her support system, including her sisterWynonna Judd, her aunt and “those deep in the wisdom of body arts and, my partner.”

“Sometimes all we did was cry. Sometimes we sang a mindfulness song,” she added. “Sometimes we held each other and slept.”

Ashley Judd in May 2024.Arturo Holmes/Getty

Arturo Holmes/Getty

Judd then advised anyone who had been suffering from chronic pain to “ask for help while supporting yourself and meeting your own needs.”

“Every day, I return to my values and consider how I can live them, even in the smallest ways - Citizenship. Faith. Being in Nature. Relationships. Learning. And so much more,” she wrote.

Judd then concluded her write-up with the Bible verses of Psalms 116: 5-8.

source: people.com