Drew Barrymore’s mother placed her in a psychiatric ward when she was 13

Drew Barrymore is a familiar person to most. She is a great actor, mother and talk show host. The 46-year-old recently went candid on The Howard Stern Show, sharing about how she was placed in a psychiatric ward at 13.

Barrymore was in a place called Van Nuys Psychiatric for a year and a half. She said that “you couldn’t mess around in there.” And if you did, you would be thrown either in the padded room or get put in stretcher restraints and tied up.

Barrymore shared that growing up with idols such as the Go-Go’s, Blonde and Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics led her to channel her “inner riot girl” and cause uproars. According to a report by Buzzfeed on February 25, Barrymore said she would ‘totally rile the entire joint up.’ She described that it was like half a kids facility and half an old persons place so as she was riling up these young girls, a woman in a walker would go by. She added that it was hilarious.

Stern then asked why Barrymore’s mother did not just sit her down to ask why she was so angry and what was wrong. Barrymore responded by saying she thinks her mother created a monster and she did not know what to do with the monster. It was her last gasp and Barrymore was out of control.

She forgives her mother for making this choice. According to Barrymore, her mother probably felt like she had nowhere to turn. Barrymore is sure that her mother lived with a lot of guilt for years about creating the monster, but then she thinks her mother lived with a lot of pain because she wouldn’t talk to her for a long time.

When Howard asked if Barrymore speaks with her mother today, she replied, “Yeah, we texted this morning.”

“I have so much more empathy now, being 46 and the mother of two girls. It’s hard, and I raise my girls so much more traditionally, quietly, and very protectively. It’s such an antithesis to my upbringing.”

“The pain that I went through from that, I felt so guilty denying my mom access to me. It felt like I was cutting off the source of life. … Definitely the worst pain I’ve ever known. And I just thought, ‘I have to let this go. What is this doing for either of us?'”

“I think she’s old enough now to be in a different place in her life. And I know the changes that I’ve made, and how long they took. I know that’s possible for people, so why not her too?” she concluded.