Australian actress Tammin Sursok has spoken about the harrowing experience she had with marijuana.
The former Home and Away, 41, star revealed on the Mental As Anyone podcast she once feared for her life after smoking a joint.
She admitted that she tried the drug for the first time, almost 20 years ago while in Los Angeles – and the experience did not go well.
‘I tried marijuana once and I drove myself to the hospital because I thought I was dead,’ Tammin admitted.
‘I called my mum, and I was like, “I am stuck between life and death, like time has stopped”.’
She added that her long trip to the hospital was scuttled when she was overcome with tiredness and a case of the ‘munchies.’
Australian actress Tammin Sursosk has spoken about the a harrowing experience she had with drugs on the Mental As Anyone podcast
‘I drove myself to the hospital very slowly, like I was going 10 kilometres an hour, I swear to God,’ she admitted.
‘It was just around the corner, so I was like, I can get there. I got into the visitors parking, I fell asleep, and then I went and ordered a pizza from my car.
‘So weird. Then I was like, this is the worst drug ever, this is not for me.’
Tammin shot to fame at the age of 15 playing Dani Sutherland on Home and Away, and has also been open about her struggles with mental health, including suffering from bulimia.
Tammin, who is very active on social media, went on to say that posting on the likes of Instagram had been ‘mentally exhausting.’
‘Social media for me has not been great for my mental health because if I don’t get the million view hit every couple of videos, then I feel like it is all lost. It is really tiring, and it is mentally exhausting
Elsewhere in the podcast, Tammin revealed that she suffered ‘small’ sexual abuses during her time growing up in the entertainment industry.
Tammin – who did not specify on which projects the abuse occurred -revealed that behaviour from predatory men in the industry was seen as normal.
‘I tried marijuana once and I drove myself to the hospital because I thought I was dead,’ Tammin revealed
‘When the Me Too movement came out, I was like, “I am so lucky, sexual abuse never happened to me,”‘ the 41-year-old said.
‘But then when I look at these microdoses of sexual abuse, I’m like, “oh my goodness, there were so many things that were said or like, I was overly sexualised.”‘
Tammin says she dealt with an older man ‘saying some extremely inappropriate things to me and I was 15 and 16-years-old’.
Another experience involved a man showing her a nude photo of himself while she was getting her makeup done.
‘There was just these little underground hidden things that were, like small abuse, I guess but I didn’t really know it at the time, because it was kind of normalised,’ she said, adding that she believed the behaviour was ‘okay’ at the time.
‘I actually look at it and think I’m actually really lucky I got out so unscathed, but there was still stuff’.
Tammin explained she will be discussing the experiences in her first memoir, which will be released in 2025.
‘This is honestly a dream come true, as I’ve been writing essays and snippets about my life for almost ten years now,’ Tammin explained.
Elsewhere in the podcast, Tammin revealed that she suffered ‘small’ sexual abuses during her time growing up in the entertainment industry
‘I look at these microdoses of sexual abuse, I’m like, “oh my goodness, there were so many things that were said or like, I was overly sexualised”,’ she said
‘It’s very surreal that these insights into my past are now turning into a book,’ she continued.
‘There is a lot I’ve opened up about already, but there’s also so much more to uncover. Thank you to Pantera Press for joining forces with me. Watch this space’.
Tammin has always been candid about her struggles in the industry and previously discussed her battle with her body image, admitting that she ‘desired to be wanted, to be lusted over’ as a young girl and struggled with an eating disorder.
Posting a series of heartbreaking stories to her Instagram in honour of International Women’s Day, the actress reflected on the devastating effects she suffered being objectified by men.
The first story she shared was about a young boy she had a crush on who told her she needed to lose weight at the age of 15.
She revealed she was ‘paralysed in fear and lust’ when he approached her, saying: ‘My heart stopped. I had daydreamed for years that this moment would come.’
But her dream came crashing down when the boy brutally told her: ‘You need to go to Jenny Craig [weight loss program].’
Tammin moved on to her next story which recounted a time when she had dropped to 45 kilograms in weight by forcing herself to throw up after a meal.
Tammin shot to fame at the age of 15 playing Dani Sutherland on Home and Away
‘I had spent the last 40 minutes ramming my chapped and raw knuckles down my throat. I knew this routine well. I had become an expert at lying,’ she said.
‘I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and saw my eyes; they looked like they were bleeding. I weakly smiled at my reflection. I was 100 pounds (45 kilos), I thought, now people would love me.’
Finally, Sursok told the story of the 30-year-old man she dated at the age of 21 who she let make fun of her body because ‘I was taught in school that boys that like you make fun of you’.
Tammin lives in Nashville with husband Sean McEwen and their two daughters, nine-year-old Phoenix and four-year-old Lennon.
For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14.