Glamour: Speaking of mental health, I think it's a topic that deserves to be explored more in depth.

Lili: We definitely address it with Betty in the latter half of the season. Episode 10 specifically is a good one for Betty’s darker side and Betty battling her demons, which I think is beautiful to watch. You don’t usually see a character come to terms with what’s “wrong” with them...what’s not socially acceptable with them or what’s considered “normal.” Roberto and I have already talked about doing that in season two, possibly Betty seeking treatment or seeking help. Because it’s not something you brush under the rug. Certainly for me, I came to a point where I told my parents I wanted to see a therapist and a psychiatrist and see if there was medication I could [go on]. I was very proactive, and I think showing a strong young woman who is willing to seek help…you don’t see that.

Glamour: Right. It's underrepresented.

Lili: Exactly. I think that’s important. I would love to see Betty take ownership, which she does later in the season. She comes to terms with digging her nails into her hands and [that] kind of self-harm and her journey to discovering that she needs help and it’s OK to seek help. I want to see more exploration into these people’s demons.

Glamour: I’d love if they'd introduce a therapist because every one of these characters could benefit from it. And it helps break down the stigma that some people still feel.

Lili: It’s perhaps in the works. [Smiles] Some people think that seeing a therapist is admitting weakness; it’s such an old-fashioned way of looking at things. It makes me feel stronger to be able to say I was able to seek help when I knew that I needed it and not just suffer in silence. What’s the point? I was actively trying to make myself feel better, and that’s what I did. Honestly, therapy was a life saver. The same with medication. I did what I had to do, and I don’t think it’s weak. Saying that you’re sad or you’re hurt is not saying that you’re less than or that you’re admitting weakness. It’s the opposite. I wouldn’t be able to be here without therapy and without my medication that helps me. It takes the edge off and makes me not feel anxiety for no reason. I don’t know why people have a stigma against medication.

Glamour: I agree. I'm on a low-dose myself, and there's nothing wrong with it. You have to take care of your mental health the same way you would your physical health.

Lili: Yeah, it’s a chemical in your brain. I was afraid to go on medication at first. This is a very common worry—that it was going to change me and make me less of a goofball than I was or make me feel less like myself. I quickly learned, though, that is so not the case. It’s just a matter of helping alleviate the unnecessary anxieties so you can be happy and be yourself.

Glamour: Was there anything in particular that caused anxiety and depression for you?

Lili: School was a big source of anxiety for me. I hated school. I have social anxiety, and it developed when I was a kid. I had trouble going to birthday parties. It was always there. I begged my mom to let me be home-schooled at one point for a semester because I was so miserable at school. I wasn’t being bullied—there was no particular reason—but depression runs in my family. That’s something that can be hard to come to terms with. There wasn’t a particular reason why I was feeling this way, but you don’t need a reason—it’s depression. It’s a chemical in your brain that can be helped with medication, so that’s what I did. I didn’t really need someone’s approval to be like, "OK, it makes sense why you’re unhappy." You don’t need validation from someone like that. You don’t need validation to feel like it’s OK to be sad. As long as you try to figure it out and solve it to make things better, that’s all that matters.