Dr. Phil/YouTube/HBOGame of Thrones actor Sophie Turner has opened up about her battle with depression in an emotional interview.
23-year-old Turner, Sansa in HBO’s hit show, admitted criticism about her appearance and acting had a significant impact on her mental health.
She also revealed when she was younger she contemplated suicide.
PASpeaking to Dr. Phil on his podcast Phil In The Blanks, Turner explained how while filming Game of Thrones, negative comments about her on social media caused a decline in her mental health.
Turner started filming the show in 2010 when she was 14 years old, with her fame coming at a price three years later with the rise of social media.
She explained:
I was so in love with [the show]. I couldn’t believe I was going to get paid for it, I was on an amazing show.
It only started to go downhill really when I started to hit puberty, when I was 17 and my metabolism slowed down, I was gaining weight and then there was social media scrutiny, and it really hit me.
Social media contributed, but that wasn’t the main reason, it was some sort of chemical imbalance but it definitely was a bit of a catalyst.
I would just believe it. I would say, ‘Yeah, I am spotty. I am fat. I am a bad actress.’ I would just believe it. I would get [the costume department] to tighten my corset a lot. I just got very, very self-conscious.
Depression also caused Turner to isolate herself, admitting she ‘had no motivation to do anything or go out’, instead staying inside to ‘cry and cry and cry’.
Later on in the interview, after Turner explains how she wants to do more to support those battling mental health issues, Dr. Phil asks her if suicide ‘ever seemed like a good option’ when she was struggling.
Admitting she did think about suicide, she believes she wouldn’t have ‘gone through with it’:
Yeah. It did. I say that I wasn’t very depressed when I was younger, but I used to think about suicide a lot when I was younger, even when I wasn’t depressed.
I don’t know why though, maybe it’s just a weird fascination I used to have. I used to think about it, I don’t think I ever would have gone through with it.
You can watch Turner’s interview in full here:
With the help of medication, therapy and her relationship with Joe Jonas, Turner concluded she feels ‘much better now’ adding ‘I love myself now, or more than I used to’.
Now Game of Thrones has finished filming, Turner is taking a break to focus on what is ‘more important’ to her, mental health.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues, and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
