Amanda Seyfried Discusses OCD, Taking Antidepressants With Allure

Millions of Americans take antidepressants; however, the stigma that comes with taking medication for mental illness prevents a lot of people from getting the help they truly need.

In an interview with Allure, actress Amanda Seyfried, known for her roles in “Mean Girls,” “Ted 2,” “Les Miserables” and “Mamma Mia,” spoke candidly about taking antidepressants and living with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). “I’m on Lexapro, and I’ll never get off of it,” Seyfried told the magazine. “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.”

As part of her interview, Seyfried described her years of living with OCD – noting her obsessive fears and thoughts have gotten better as she gets older, though she still struggles with anxiety and feeling insecure. “You don’t see the mental illness: It’s not a mass; it’s not a cyst. But it’s there,” she said. “Why do you need to prove it? If you can treat it, you treat it.”

This isn’t the first time Seyfried has opened up about living with mental illness. In 2015, Seyfried told Marie Claire U.K. she regularly goes to therapy. “It’s coping with life. I’ve been told to not talk about it, but [anxiety] is so very common,” Seyfried said. “I just think, you go to your doctor about heart problems, or an eye doctor if you have an infection, you have to take care of yourself. Mental health is so segregated, it sucks. You don’t necessarily have to have something chemically wrong with your brain to have mental health issues.”

Image Credit: GabboT