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"For a long time," said Turner, "I had a companion ... It's a live-in therapist, who would ensure I wasn't doing anything unhealthy with my eating habits."
Sophie Turner has revealed that she suffered from an eating disorder.
In an interview with Elle UK for their June cover story, the actress opened up about her experience struggling with the disorder, sharing that her condition reached a point where needed a live-in therapist.
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View Story"For a long time, I was quite sick with an eating disorder and I had a companion," said Turner, 26. "I don't know if you know what a companion is? It's a live-in therapist, who would ensure I wasn't doing anything unhealthy with my eating habits."
The "Game of Thrones" alum said social media, notably Instagram, has negatively impacted her body image, while being in the limelight has affected her mental health, and alluded that these factors contributed to her eating disorder.
"I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I wish I'd never got myself involved with it in the first place," she admitted. "I look at the comments on Instagram and think, 'Oh, f---. Everyone thinks this about me.' It would completely consume me."
Turner shared that her "companion" gave her the "best advice" she's ever received.
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"One night, I was playing over and over in my mind a comment I'd seen on Instagram. I was like, 'I'm so fat, I'm so undesirable,' and spinning out," she told Elle. "She said to me, 'You know, no one actually cares. I know you think this, but nobody else is thinking it. You're not that important.' That was the best thing anyone could have told me."
As noted by Elle, the "Dark Phoenix" star "recently" made the decision to remove the Instagram app from her phone, with Turner saying that it's "made such a difference."
"I have noticed that social media makes me incredibly anxious and it's something I try to distance myself from," she explained. "Having it off my phone has been so helpful. Now, if I do have to go on it, it's for a few minutes once or twice a week, rather than hours every day."
"Live real life – it's much more fun."
While Turner said that she's definitely in a better place now overall, she still attends weekly therapy sessions.
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"I still have to do it every week," she said of therapy, which she's a big believer in. "Occasionally, I go on a retreat to check myself, and I still have days when I feel depressed or anxious. It's manageable now – I have the tools. I know what's good for me and what’s not good for me. I know what I have to do to get myself in a good headspace. It's not debilitating – I know how to get myself out of it."
Meanwhile, also during her interview with Elle UK, Turner confirmed the news that she was pregnant with her second child with husband Joe Jonas. The couple is already parents to 1-year-old daughter Willa.
"It's what life is about for me – raising the next generation," said Turner, who showed off her growing baby bump on the magazine's cover. "The greatest thing in life is seeing my daughter go from strength to strength. We're so excited to be expanding the family. It's the best blessing ever."
