The famous astronaut who defied odds – and gravity – by landing on the moon alongside Neil Armstrong in 1969struggled with depression and alcoholism after his inspiring feat. “I can’t recall ever sharing my pain with another male friend or confiding in anyone that I was struggling to hold life together,”he wrote in his bookMagnificent Desolation.“At first the alcohol soothed the depression, making it at least somewhat bearable. But the situation progressed into depressive-alcoholic binges in which I would withdraw like a hermit into my apartment.”

After treating his depression and alcoholism, Aldrin went on to serve as thechairman of the National Association of Mental Health.

Read More… These 12 Incredibly Successful People Will Change The Way You Think About Depression