During a recent interview, Glenn Close and her sister, Jessie Close, opened up about Jessie's longtime struggle with bipolar disorder and substance abuse.

Glenn revealed that while pursuing acting in New York early on in her career, she was unaware that her sister was struggling with mental illness back in Montana because that was a subject her family refused to discuss.

"Our family never talked about it, never talked about the possibility of a mental illness," Glenn told "CBS This Morning." "No, how we grew up. People didn't go see psychiatrists. There's other people who have, but not us."

Jessie then chimed in and explained that while her parents ignored her signs of mental illness, she became self-destructive and began abusing drugs, sex and alcohol -- a decision she admits hindered her abilities as a mother and wife.

"I mean, my daughter, I would tell her that I had the flu -- and I had the flu a lot. I was drinking so heavily," Jessie said. "She would try and find something to eat, and there wouldn't be anything to eat. So she'd have to try and get Mommy up and into the car and go to the market."

While Jessie admits to struggling through her illness alone for most of her life, she still credits Glenn as the person who ultimately helped her overcome her illness once she had reached the point of wanting to commit suicide.

Glenn admitted that when her sister confessed that she wanted to kill herself, she immediately stepped in and sought help for her. With Glenn's support, Jessie checked into a hospital and, at 51 years old, was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Jessie has successfully remained sober for 14 years since, and now the sisters have published a book titled "Resilience" that talks about Jessie's story and spreads awareness about mental disorders. In addition to their book, both Glenn and Jessie conduct speeches and events across the country to help those in need of overcoming mental illness, the Daily Mail reports.

Glenn also started the BringChange2Mind nonprofit organization in 2010 to help end the stigma towards people suffering with mental disabilities.