Lili Reinhart on dealing with anxiety: It’s Frustrating

Los Angeles (IANS) – Actress Lili Reinhart has opened up about her “frustrating” battle with anxiety and depression, saying it has taken time to realise she was “just a human whos feeling something in a different way than some other people would”.

The “Riverdale” actress spoke to Glamour magazine about her mental health struggles, sharing her difficulties are still very much ongoing, reports aceshowbiz.com.

“I’ve experienced depression and anxiety. Not constantly, but I’m still experiencing it,” she explained. “I have spells of time where I feel completely unmotivated, I don’t want to do anything and I question myself. I don’t know how to handle stress very well.

“I find that talking about it and sharing my experience with other people, and reminding myself that I’m not alone has been incredibly therapeutic.”

She started seeing a therapist in her teens, when she was struggling with “incredible social anxiety”, and reflected that opening up to someone about her problems allowed her “to be understood” — something she found so helpful that she continues to go to therapy today.

“The goal for me has been to always leave therapy feeling a couple of inches taller,” she said.

“Feeling like I’ve alleviated myself of a problem by learning how to solve it. Not everything has a straight answer – it’s not just going to take one session – but I start to think, ‘I’ve grown, I’ve done this, I’ve figured this out, now can I go off into the world and try to put what I’ve learned into action’.

“That’s how I look at therapy. I am not crazy, and I am not problematic. I am just a human who’s feeling something in a different way than some other people would.”

How her relationship with her anxiety is now, she said: “Frustrating.”

“It’s something that I’ve accepted, but I don’t understand it,” she added, before saying that she’s taken to writing lists to help her rationalise any problem that feels overwhelming.

–IANS
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