Mariska Hargitay Still Deals With 'Complex Trauma' From Her Sexual Assault and Mom's Jayne Mansfield's Sudden Death in 1967

Mariska Hargitay candidly dished on her mental health and difficult past when she had the honor of speaking at the Hope for Depression Research Foundation's luncheon on Tuesday, November 12.

The actress revealed she still deals with "complex trauma" that stems from losing her mother, model Jayne Mansfield, in 1967 and the sexual assault she experienced in her 30s.

"I lost my mother when I was 3 years old, and I grew up in a house of people dealing with the tragedy in their own way. Because there was so much grief, there wasn’t room to prioritize anyone," the Law & Order: SVU star, 60, explained. "We didn’t have the tools that we have now to metabolize and understand trauma."

While the mom-of-one also "suffered sexual trauma," she said it "wasn’t until much later that I found the language to acknowledge it for what it was."

Coming to terms with her past is one of the reasons she launched her Joyful Heart Foundation, which aims "to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever."

"I built a whole foundation that responded to trauma and survivors the way that I wanted to be responded to," she shared. "I had the good fortune to find extraordinary therapists who introduced me to many different healing modalities."

The actress went on to thank those who helped as she healed.

"I don't know if I’ll ever find the words to express my gratitude for those who have accompanied me in my journey," Hargitay said. "For those who mirrored my trauma back to me, who helped me integrate different parts of ourselves and metabolize my own trauma. Complex trauma that so many of us carry. We all have a story. We all are carrying so much internally that other people can’t see."

The Emmy winner first revealed she was raped in an article she published this past January, admitting the man was a friend at the time.

"It wasn’t sexual at all," she stated of the incident. "It was dominance and control. Overpowering control."

"I tried all the ways I knew to get out of it. I tried to make jokes, to be charming, to set a boundary, to reason, to say no. He grabbed me by the arms and held me down. I was terrified. I didn’t want it to escalate to violence," Hargitay recalled. "I now know it was already sexual violence, but I was afraid he would become physically violent. I went into freeze mode, a common trauma response when there is no option to escape. I checked out of my body."

Us Weekly reported on Hargitay's speech at the luncheon.