Charlize Theron talks therapy, struggling with OCD and being wild in her 20s

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Actress Charlize Theron credits being wild in her 20s and therapy in her 30s with being able to handle life as a working single mother today.

“The Long Shot” actress, 43, recently opened up about the impact that therapy had in helping her get past her troubled childhood. The South African star has previously been open about the fact she grew up with an abusive, alcoholic father.

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“I didn’t discover therapy until my mid-30s,” the mother of two adopted children told Marie Claire. “My reasons for going had a lot to do with South Africa and uncertainty and living with an alcoholic every day in my life. What I discovered was that my life was an all-encompassing thing. It showed me that I can see the big picture and understand the reason to get to a place where I could create a life for my own kids.”

The star admits therapy helped her channel her obsessive nature into roles in hit movies such as “Atomic Blonde,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Monster.” However, she revealed that she struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Charlize Theron opened up about motherhood and therapy. (Thomas Whiteside)

“Obsessing is good for me. I’m very focused on the stuff that I really care about, but I do struggle with a bit of OCD,” Theron said. “So I have to organize things that I can see: closets, drawers. That has to do with when I feel that things I can’t see are out of control.”

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In her 40s, Theron admits she prides herself on being a hardworking mom.

“My 20s were really about getting a lot of stuff out of my system—wanting to experience the world, do drugs, travel to Turkey for four months with a backpack,” she said, “and I did all that, so by the time I had kids, I was really ready.”

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She continued: “I’m in bed at 7:45 every night now, and I love it because I’ve lived. You don’t want to be 80 and on your death bed and wonder what might have happened. If I die tomorrow, I’m at peace with who I am in my life.”