Orlando Bloom Went Through A 'Dark Time' After Near-Death Experience

Orlando Bloom is reflecting on the "painful journey" he went through following a near-death experience when he was younger.

Bloom, a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador, partnered with the organization on World Mental Health Day on Monday (October 10) to speak about how a nasty fall when he was a teen led to a "dark time" in his life. When he was just 19 years old, he fell several floors from a window while climbing up a rooftop terrace with friends, causing him to fracture his vertebrae, per E! News.

In a video shared to Instagram, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor opened up about how the accident impacted his mental health.

"I was very fortunate to survive the fall because my spinal cord was still intact," he said. "And when I was in the hospital, I was told for the first four days that I may never walk again. That was really the beginning of what was a long and painful journey for me into recognizing and understanding some of the patterns that had been in my life that led to me having numerous accidents."

While doctors initially warned Bloom he may not walk after the fall, he worked to prove them wrong and was even able to leave the hospital 12 days later while walking with crutches. Despite this victory, he still faced a rocky path ahead.

"I would say the months after the fall were quite a dark time," he said. "As somebody who's sort of always been very active in my life, it felt restrictive all of a sudden and I was in a lot of pain."

His recovery process took a toll on both his physical and mental well-being, but he said it allowed him to "recognize what was good and great in my life," which helped influence how he lived his life.

"Mental health is particularly challenging because it's unseen," Bloom said. "There is always an opportunity for you to transform the pain, whether it be physical or mental, into the good, great fortune of your life."

For anyone struggling with their own mental health journey, the Lord of the Rings actor offered some advice.

"It's so important to reach out to people, to talk to people, to find somebody," he said. "In order to create the possibility for communication that leads to transformation and change."