Mariska Hargitay shares insights into healing journey after 'various traumas'

Mariska Hargitay opened up about her personal healing journey after facing several traumas. At the 18th annual Hope for Depression Research Foundation seminar, where she was honored with the Hope’s Award for Depression Advocacy, she humorously began her speech saying, "Thank God I got an honorary doctorate at John Jay University, because otherwise I’d be feeling really insecure with all the doctors in the room."

She then shared, "On a personal note, I've gone through my own journey of learning how to respond to the various traumas that I've experienced in my life." Reflecting on the trauma of losing her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield, in a tragic car accident at the age of 34 in 1967, Hargitay said, “I lost my mother when I was three years old. I grew up in a house where people were dealing with their own grief in their own way, and because there was so much grief, there wasn't room to prioritize anyone else."

Hargitay explained that the creation of the Joyful Heart Foundation was a way for her to give back to others who had experienced trauma. "Joyful Heart was part of my response to my own experience," she said, adding that the foundation was built to address trauma and support survivors in the way she wished to have been supported.

She also spoke about the healing modalities that helped her, including somatic reprocessing and somatic experiencing—techniques focused on how trauma is stored in the body. "I had the good fortune to find extraordinary therapists who introduced me to these practices," she explained.

In closing, the actress expressed deep gratitude, saying, “I don’t know if I’ll ever find the words to express my gratitude for those who have accompanied me on this journey, for those who mirrored my trauma back to me.”