Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner has said therapy changed her life.
The 23-year-old, who plays Sansa Stark in the hit TV show, spoke openly about the mental health issues she has faced, including anxiety and depression, in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
She described how she was left a ‘nervous wreck’ due to the pressure she felt about starring as the lead in the latest X-Men film, X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
But she credits therapy, and medication, with making a big difference in helping her cope with her mental health problems.
"I still experience it, but I had therapy, I'm on medication, and I feel so much better. The fact that I spoke to someone changed my life."
She said she believed therapy is more widely accepted among young people.
“It’s definitely a generational thing.
“My mum still asks me, ‘Why do you need a therapist?’"
She has also encouraged her fellow cast members to go to therapy, according to co-star Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark in the show.
"I can’t tell you the amount of times Sophie said, 'Go to therapy,' before I actually did," Maisie told Glamour magazine in an interview earlier this year.
"She really helped me through some messy break-ups and some friend break-ups."
Earlier this year, Sophie responded to a tweet by Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan, in which he said he agreed that celebrities were trying to make mental health problems "fashionable".
"Or maybe they have a platform to speak out about it and help get rid of the stigma of mental illness which affects one in four people in UK per year," Sophie tweeted.
"But please go ahead and shun them back into silence.”
To find a counsellor or psychotherapist, visit our Therapist Directory.
Picture credit: Gage Skidmore.
