Sophie Turner spent her formative years in the limelight, and while for most fame at an early age would be a dream come true, it has its drawbacks. For the Game of Thrones star, the price was her mental health.

During a visit to Dr. Phil's podcast Phil In The Blanks, the 23-year-old opened up about her struggles with depression and how her critics affected her mental health.

"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," she recalled. "I would get [the costume department] to tighten my corset a lot. I just got very, very self-conscious."

Those insecurities eventually blossomed into symptoms of depression. Turner "all of a sudden" lost her feeling of motivation and began distancing herself from her friends. The feelings of isolation were made worse by a disconnect stemming from her decision to pursue acting instead of attending university like the rest of her friends and her two brothers.

"I had no motivation to do anything or go out. Even with my best friends, I wouldn't want to see them, I wouldn't want to go out and eat with them," she said. "I just would cry and cry and cry over just getting changed and putting on clothes and be like, 'I can't do this. I can't go outside. I have nothing that I want to do.'"

The 23-year-old eventually sought therapy and treatment, which has helped her "feel much better. "I'm on medication and I love myself now, or more than I used to, I think," she said.

"It's weird. I say I wasn't very depressed when I was younger, but I used to think about suicide a lot when I was younger. I don't know why though," she explained. "Maybe it's just a weird fascination I used to have, but yeah, I used to think about it. I don't think I ever would have gone through with it. I don't know."

Now that Game of Thrones is done filming its final season, the actress is taking a break from work as she and her fiancee Joe Jonas plan their wedding and taking the time she needs to focus on her mental health.

Listen to the full episode of Phil In The Blanks below.

 

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