Sophie Turner has revealed that her therapist moved in with her at the height of her eating disorder.
The game of Thrones The 26-year-old actress admitted that growing up in the public eye affected her mental health and that social media had a negative effect on her body image.
Turner admitted that she wishes she had never gotten involved with social media and that her live-in therapist has helped her navigate both her relationship with food and Instagram.
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In a candid interview with Elle magazine, she said: “I suffered from an eating disorder for a long time and had a companion. I don’t know if you know what a companion is? It’s a therapist who lives with me and makes sure that I don’t do anything unhealthy with my eating habits.”
“One night, a comment I saw on Instagram kept going through my head. I thought, ‘I’m so fat, I’m so unattractive,’ and I panicked. She said to me, ‘You know, nobody really cares. I know, You think that, but nobody else thinks that. You’re not that important.'”
That comment completely changed her attitude. “That was the best thing anyone could have said to me,” Turner admitted.
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Turner grew up in Warwickshire and got the role of Sansa Stark in game of Thrones when she was just 16, which immediately put her in the spotlight.
She has been dating singer Joe Jonas since 2016 and three years later the two married in Las Vegas.
The couple already has a two-year-old daughter named Willa and announced on the Met Gala red carpet this week that they are expecting their second child together.
Because of her own experiences, Turner is very protective of her daughter and her family life. She says she and Jonas only walk the red carpet together when it serves their careers, not to be a “celebrity couple.”
She also revealed that deleting Instagram from her phone was a huge turning point for her.
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“I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I wish I had never gotten into it,” she told Elle. “I look at the comments on Instagram and think: Oh, damn. That’s what everyone thinks about me. It would eat me up completely.”
She is a strong believer in therapy and attends sessions regularly. She says that therapy has given her the tools to do what is right for herself.
“I still have to do it every week. Occasionally I go into a retreat to check in with myself, and I still have days where I feel depressed or anxious. Now it’s manageable – I have the tools. I know what’s good for me and what’s not good for me. I know what I need to do to get myself in a good mental state. It doesn’t paralyze me – I know how to get out of it.”
