Oprah Winfrey Opens Up About Near Nervous Breakdown in 2012

Oprah Winfrey, one of world's most influential women reveals to Access HollyWood's Shaun Robinson that she nearly suffered a nervous breakdown in 2012. The 59-year old Queen of Talk opens up on how she struggles to save her failing OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) TV network which was launched in 2011 while filming Lee Daniels' "The Butler" last year.

It was on October 2012 when she interviewed Jason Russell, the director of the controversial campaigning video Kony 2012, for an episode of Oprah's Next Chapter when she realized that she was having the same symptoms during Russell's meltdown in March 2012.

Ms Winfrey said: "I was sitting and listening to Jason Russell describe his symptoms... Saying, 'Um, this sounds pretty familiar to me.' "

Despite the offer's bad timing, Oprah just can't refuse to turn down the role for "The Butler" as she plays Gloria Gaines, the wife of a White House butler Cecil Gaines who served eight American presidents over three decades.

"In the beginning, it was just sort of speeding and a kind of numbness and going from one thing to the next thing to the next thing. I will tell you when I realized that I thought, 'All right, if I don't calm down I'm gonna be in serious trouble.' I was in the middle of doing voice-overs, you know? And I remember closing my eyes in between each page because looking at the page and the words at the same time was too much stimulation for my brain."

But the interview with Jason Russell did not stop her until she interviewed a member of "Black Eyed Peas" Fergie, whose father was suffering from cancer at that time, that Oprah decided that she needed to slow down and take care of herself.

"I mean, I wasn't ready to go run naked in the streets. Let's make that very clear," Winfrey said, referencing Russell's incident. "But I had reached a point where I just couldn't take in anymore stimulation."

Today, Oprah still continues to juggle her time while managing her OWN TV and her acting career. She managed to turn losses into profits for OWN despite an estimated loss of $330 Million over its first year on air. Now her new film is a certified blockbuster for recently passing $100 Million at the US box office.