Amanda Seyfield Talks OCD; Says Mental Illness "Should Be Taken As Seriously As Anything Else"

Actress Amanda Seyfried has opened up about what it's like to live with obsessive compulsive disorder, and how treating mental illnesses with medication shouldn't be stigmatised.

The Mamma Mia! actress spoke with Allure magazine about home renovations, living with a mental illness and overcoming insecurities.

On the topic of home renovations, Seyfried said she's fixed up a barn for guests to stay in. There's a bathroom and kitchenette, but no stove.

The interviewer asked whether that was in relation to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

"Yes. About the gas. You could so easily burn down something if you leave the stove on. Or the oven," replied Seyfried.

She admits to being medicated on Lexapro since the age of 19 and thinks she'll "never get off of it".

"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," she says. "You don't 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."

"As I get older, the compulsive thoughts and fears have diminished a lot."

THANK YOU @AmandaSeyfried for lending your voice to #MentalHealthAwareness #KeepUpTheGoodFight 👊

— Mauro Ranallo (@mauroranallo) October 19, 2016

So true....I've personally struggled with depression & anxiety in the past... https://t.co/SfEm1VvPw3

— Paul Milsom (@Milsom1Paul) October 19, 2016

"It's funny when insecurity hits you," she says. "Sometimes I feel I know the world so well, but then... it's so debilitating. You're like, what am I doing here? No one wants to see me. Why are you taking my picture? It's stupid, it's irrational, and it's not all about me, but I make it about me because I'm insecure."

2. A good face wash is important. 😉 (Good thinking, @AmandaSeyfried!) https://t.co/zEAbEomiHH https://t.co/up9CigfZAJ

— Allure (@Allure_magazine) October 18, 2016

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Photo: Allure