Debby Ryan has suffered a “pretty crazy life-altering brain injury”.
The former Disney star opened up about her health struggle on Mythical Kitchen's Last Meals YouTube series, as she described herself as a “migraine warrior”.
She explained: “Quite often the world is really loud. It’s really too bright, it’s too – there’s a lot going on.”
Debby told host Josh Scherer that she has suffered five concussions in the past, the first four of which were the result of singular “incidents”.
However, the fifth concussion was what Debby called “life-altering”, noting that she experienced “sustained shaking over a minute of time”.
She said: "I had a pretty crazy life-altering brain injury a few years ago, and I was out of commission for like six months, and I went to this neurological rehab for like six months.”
When that was unsuccessful, and ended up making things worse, Debby underwent a "fringe science treatment" to get her "back online”.
And while it helped somewhat, there were some things that “just did not come back”.
She still suffers from “hellish” migraines, and has to close her eyes to help her think clearly.
However, Debby is well aware that things could have looked dramatically different for her - especially if she hadn’t had the love and support of her family and friends, including husband Josh Dun and their daughter Felix.
She said: “I feel really fortunate that I have an amazing team of people around me who sort of reminded me who I am and was and also held a lot of space for that to change, potentially permanently, and love me through that.”
Debby first found fame in Disney Channel series The Suite Life on Deck, before going on to take on the titular role of Jessie Prescott on Jessie from 2011 to 2015.
She also starred in the lead role on Netflix comedy Insatiable in 2018, but has been largely out of the spotlight until this year, when she appeared opposite Dakota Fanning in The Sun Never Sets.
