The 'Mamma Mia!' actress discusses stigma of mental illness, saying 'it should be taken as seriously as anything else.'
- Oct 19, 2016
AceShowbiz - Amanda Seyfried has always been open about her battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder in the past, and now she reveals one of her biggest fears that stemmed from her OCD. In her cover story for Allure magazine, she talks about banning stove from her guest house.
"I always worry about people and how they use stoves, which is just a controlling thing," the newly-engaged actress explains. The blonde beauty adds to the magazine, "About the gas. You could so easily burn something if you leave the stove on. Or the oven."
She also admits to taking medication for more than a decade, "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?" she says.
"A mental illness is a thing that people cast in a different category [from other illnesses], but I don't think it is," the 30-year-old star continues. "It should be taken as seriously as anything else. 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," she opens up. "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."
One time I saw @AmandaSeyfried wearing a cashmere-blend coat and velvet boots. So I bought a cashmere-blend coat and velvet boots. pic.twitter.com/iPhlDoNjDx
— Allure (@Allure_magazine) October 18, 2016
Back in 2012, Amanda Seyfried told InStyle, "I don't feel like I'm struggling with it. I think OCD is a part of me that protects me. It's also the part of me that I use in my job, in a positive way." She added back then, "The only thing I'd like to get beyond is my fear of driving over bridges and through tunnels. I can't overcome it."
