How Angelina Jolie's Children Helped Her Through Loss and Pain

Angelina Jolie's children have helped her through some tough times.

In an interview with Glamour UK Tuesday, the actress credited her six kids, who she shares with ex-husband Brad Pitt, as the reason she was able to deal with loss and pain.

"I certainly haven't had any situations like some and so I don't want to complain," Jolie said. "But I have had things that have made me not feel I can breathe and I'd have to fight to find them."

When asked how she was able to fight, Jolie replied, "My children helped me and I guess that you go through a certain point of pain or loss and you just you either go down or you get back up."

Jolie and Pitt share kids Zahara, 14, Pax, 15, Shiloh, 13, Knox, 11, Vivienne, 11, and Maddox, 18, who Jolie just recently sent off to college in South Korea.

The "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" star also was asked about how she's dealt with criticism and judgment in her life. And it looks like her children have helped her with this too.

"I don't think I've ever been without criticism or judgment," Jolie recalled, adding that she was "a bit odd" and "different" growing up. "I was never one of the popular, regular and I kind of never wanted to be. So it was okay. I never sought really approval, maybe because I have a strong mother who loved me and so I didn't feel like I wasn't okay."

"I'm self-critical," she continued. "I'm really hard on myself that I don't do enough and I wonder if I'm being a good enough mom or if I'm being a good enough person if I'm doing enough, but I do know that when I put my head on the pillow at night, I know who I am inside and I know I am a good person."

"And really my kids," she concluded. "They'd just tell you I'm silly. That tells me everything I need to know. When they have a problem they come to me, they think I'm funny and I tend to be the one who goes and gets the band-aids, so that's all I need to know about me."

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