Sophie Turner Bravely Opens Up About Struggle With Depression

Sophie Turner is getting honest about her struggles with mental health. The Game of Thrones actress opened up about suffering from depression.

The 23-year-old explained on the “Phil in the Blanks” podcast on Tuesday, April 16 (with host Dr. Phil McGraw), that while she was growing up, she used to think about suicide a lot.

“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 shared.

However, by the time she turned 17, Turner started to feel depressed. These feelings came just a few years after she started filming GOT, which definitely took a toll.

“The character that I play on my show is called Sansa, and people used to say, ‘Damn, Sansa gained 10 lbs’ or ‘Damn, Sansa needs to lose 10 lbs or ‘Sansa got fat.’

“It was just a lot of weight comments, or I would have spotty skin, because I was a teenager, and that’s normal, and I used to get a lot of comments about my skin and my weight and how I wasn’t a good actress,” she explained.

Because of her depression, she had no desire to spend time with her friends or family. She didn’t even want to go outside and she spent most of her days crying in bed.

The good news is she’s in a much better spot now. “I feel much better. I’ve been going therapy at CAST Centers, actually. I’m on medication and I love myself now, or more than I used to, I think.”

Now that Game of Thrones is over, Turner has decided to put her acting career on hold — for a short time. “I took a break off of work to focus on my mental health because I thought it was important,” she said. “So I’m still on that.”