Maisie Williams just got real about her struggles with mental health in the spotlight, explaining that she still has times where she fixates on all the things she "hates" about herself.
While speaking on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast about the past year, the Game of Thrones star revealed that, oftentimes, she felt like she was putting on a happy face for the public.
"I think I just went through a lot of real revelations where I was like I'm not very happy doing this and pretending everything was fine," she explained, citing the negative comments she'd receive on social media as a big trigger. "And so, that wasn't a public thing, but after going through that, now I've sort of tried to be a lot more genuine and it just becomes a lot more relaxing after that I think. You just drop it all and that's when you can really have fun."
And though she says it's "impossible to turn a blind eye" to the negativity entirely, she says she's really "trying to break free" from the feelings of self-hatred all the comments incited.
"I went through a huge period of my life where I'd tell myself every day that I hated myself," Williams shared. "It got to a point where I'd be in a conversation with my friends and my mind would running and running, and I'd be thinking about all the stupid things I've said in my life and it would just race and race."
However, Williams says things have been much better as she's learnt to reorient her perspective — something that has, ultimately, made her happier.
"I still lay in bed at like eleven o'clock at night telling myself all the things I hate about myself," Williams continued. "There's still a journey, I think. But at least dropping the act and just being who you truly are, I think that's definitely a first step."
Listen to Williams' entire interview here.
Photo via Getty
From Your Site Articles