Amanda Seyfried reveals details of mental illness
By Tribute on October 18, 2016 | 6 Comments
Amanda Seyfried believes that mental illness should be dragged out of the shadows and discussed in plain view. To help achieve that, she’s opening up about her own obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
The 30-year-old Mamma Mia! actress graces the cover of Allure‘s November issue, and while chatting about the recent renovations to her upstate New York home, the topic of mental illness arose. Amanda said she chose not to include a stove in the guest house she had built out of fear that someone might burn the place down. She added that her decision was a result of OCD, that it was “just a controlling thing.”
Delving further into the subject, she said, “I’m on Lexapro, and I’ll never get off of it. I’ve been on it since I was 19, so 11 years. I’m on the lowest dose. I don’t see the point of getting off of it. Whether it’s placebo or not, I don’t want to risk it. And what are you fighting against? Just the stigma of using a tool? A mental illness is a thing that people cast in a different category [from other illnesses], but I don’t think it is. It should be taken as seriously as anything else.”
Amanda, who has chatted about mental health in the past, also spoke about the “proof” many people need in order to legitimize mental illness, as well as her own journey to diagnose her illness. She said, “You don’t see the mental illness. It’s not a mass, it’s not a cyst. But it’s there. Why do you need to prove it? If you can treat it, you treat it.”
“I had pretty bad health anxiety that came from the OCD and thought I had a tumor in my brain. I had an MRI, and the neurologist referred me to a psychiatrist. As I get older, the compulsive thoughts and fears have diminished a lot. Knowing that a lot of my fears are not reality-based really helps.”
In her Allure feature, the Mean Girls star additionally talked about her insecurity issues and the relief she’s afforded by escaping to her Stone Ridge, New York home (which is about 100 miles north of New York City). She touches on her love of the town, her fiancé Thomas Sadoski, and her plans for her estate, which include redesigning the property and acquiring a goat and a pig to complement the rooster and four chickens she already owns. ~Matthew Pariselli
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I think it’s great that she goes into detail about what her triggers are and what medications she’s taking. This may help others feel a little less shame about their own experiences with OCD.
Tom, Tom Cruise, where are you in all this?!?
But really, she is on a medication right away for what seems like a minor OCD issue? That’s America for you.
But ya, there is such a thing as mental illnesses. At least she sought help.
Good for her, keep discussing mental health and hopefully the stigma surrounding it will disappear.
Admitting you need help is huge – accepting you have an illness you cannot control on your own is a big step – asking for and getting the help you need is a major step in leading a productive and healthy life – bring it into the open – talk about your issues and illnesses and get the help you need – me, on antidepressants for many years and I know I cannot live without them – literally become suicidal within days of cutting back. Getting the help I needed saved my life literally
Cdubya why do you need to assume she only has a minor OCD issue. I suffer from OCD which causes me a lot of stress and anxiety on a daily basis, therefore medication helps with this anxiety. Ocd is a form of anxiety and medication is there as an option to help. Dont be so quick to assume
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