Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Amanda Seyfried Opens Up about Battle with OCD

Amanda Seyfried sat down for an interview with this month's Allure Magazine, where she opened up about her battle with OCD. Here's what she had to say:

Q: Have you done a lot of work on your place?
A: “I bought the house in 2013, and then I had it redone.... I just finished renovating one of the barns for guests. I put in a bathroom and a little kitchenette, but no stove; I want people to eat meals in the house. Also, I always worry about people and how they use stoves. Which is just a controlling thing.” 

Q: Is this related to OCD? 
A: “Yes. About the gas. You could so easily burn down something if you leave the stove on. Or the oven.”

Q: Are you medicated?
A: “Yeah. 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. 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."

On insecurity:
“It’s funny when insecurity hits you. Sometimes I feel I know the world so well, but then...it’s so debilitating. You’re like, What am I doing here? No one wants to see me. Why are you taking my picture? It’s stupid, it’s irrational, and it’s not all about me, but I make it about me because I’m insecure.”


A photo posted by Amanda Seyfried (@mingey) on

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