Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner has opened up about suffering from depression after facing a constant stream of negativity over her character Sansa Stark on the hit HBO show.

Speaking on Dr Phil's podcast Phil in the Blanks, Sophie explained that her "biggest challenge" with regards to her mental health is her depression, adding that she's had it for "five or six years now".

"People used to say, 'Damn, Sansa gained 10 pounds', or 'Sansa needs to lose 10 pounds', or ‘Sansa got fat'," Sophie said.

"It was just a lot of weight comments, or I would have spotty skin, because I was a teenager, and that's normal, and I used to get a lot of comments about my skin and my weight and how I wasn’t a good actress."

HBO

After she admitted that the comments bothered her, she explained: "I would just believe it. I would say, 'Yeah, I am spotty. I am fat. I am a bad actress'. I would just believe it.

"I would get [the costume department] to tighten my corset a lot. I just got very, very self-conscious," she continued. "I would try out different things with my acting. I would be concerned about angles, I'd be concerned about my face.

"I would be like, 'I don't know how to angle myself', and it would just affect me creatively. I couldn't be true to the character because I was so worried about Sophie."

The actress added that the only person she talked to about her concerns was her co-star Maisie Williams, who plays Arya, saying that she became very withdrawn and didn't socialise with anyone else.

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"I just would cry and cry and cry over just getting changed and putting on clothes and be like, 'I can’t do this. I can’t go outside. I have nothing that I want to do'," she said.

Speaking about how she feels now, Sophie revealed that she's been having therapy and added that her relationship with Joe Jonas has helped her love herself a lot too.

"I feel much better. I've been doing therapy," she continued. "I'm on medication and I love myself now, or more than I used to, I think.

"I'm now with someone that makes me realise that I do have some redeeming qualities, I suppose, and when someone tells you that they love you everyday it makes you really think about why that is, and it makes you love yourself even more. So, yeah, I love myself."



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During the podcast, Sophie also explained that she was taking a break from acting to focus on her mental health, saying: "I took a break off of work to focus on my mental health because I thought it was important."

We would encourage anyone who identifies with the topics raised in this article to reach out. Organisations who can offer support include Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), and Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk).​ ​Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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