The 30-year old American actress, Amanda Seyfried model and singer is the November cover of Allure. The issue of Seyfried's mental health came during the discussion of the latest makeovers to her home in upstate New York.
When asked whether her choice not to put a stove in the guest house was because of her OCD, the actress answered, "Yes. About the gas. You could so easily burn down something if you leave the stove on. Or the oven."
As for whether she's taking medication for the disorder, Seyfried said, "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?," Seyfried replied as to whether she is taking some medications for her disorder.
She even furthered that a mental illness is a thing that people cast in a different category (from other illnesses), but she do not think it is. She also argued that it mental illness should be taken as seriously as anything else. "You do not 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," she opined.
The Ted 2 star added that at first, she believed her mental illness was manifesting itself physically for she had a pretty bad health anxiety that came from the OCD and she thought that she had a tumor in her brain.
"I had an MRI, and the neurologist referred me to a psychiatrist," she explained. "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."
Way back 2012, the actress opened up to InStyle about her OCD, saying, "I don't feel like I'm struggling with it. I think OCD is a part of me that protects me. It's also the part of me that I use in my job, in a positive way." She furthered, "The only thing I'd like to get beyond is my fear of driving over bridges and through tunnels. I can't overcome it."
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