Ellen DeGeneres on being bullied in Hollywood after coming out: 'I went Into a severe depression'

Ellen DeGeneres is the sixth-most-followed person on the planet, her talk show has earned 59 Daytime Emmy Awards, and she was recently rewarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama. At the ceremony the President stated, "Ellen has shown us that a single individual can make the world a more fun, more open, more loving place."

It is safe to say that with Obama and the world's approval Ellen is more than qualified to share her methods for living a happier life. She revealed nine secrets to her contentedness in a recent Good Housekeeping cover story, including "Just be nice," "Find a way to forgive" and "Make time for those you love."

One of her most interesting keys is "Never let the bullies win" -- revealing that after she publicly came out 20 years ago, she had to deal with a good deal of such abuse from Hollywood.

"The bullying I endured after I came out made up for the lack of it during my childhood," she told Good Housekeping. "It didn't feel fair -- I was the same person everyone had always known." The cruelty took its toll: "I moved out of L.A., went into a severe depression, started seeing a therapist and had to go on antidepressants for the first time in my life," she related. "It was scary and lonely."

After taking some time to heal DeGeneres bounced back and took on the bullies head on -- by continuing to work tirelessly and gaining massive success. She says her current motto is "'I do my best. You can be with me or not.'"

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