Game of Thrones actress Hannah Murray has confessed that she experienced psychotic episodes after joining a wellness cult in 2017.
In a memoir soon to be published, Murray recounts her harrowing experience, saying, I had no idea I would go through the things that appear in the book. I thought I couldn't do that, that I would be safe. I had a good education and came from a middle-class family, so I thought everything would be fine, she told The Guardian.
I thought, 'I'm smart. I make good choices.' But I made terrible choices. Rather than thinking, 'Ah, those people must be idiots,' or 'How could they be so stupid?,' it's important to understand why people behave that way, she added.
Murray said the first contact she had with the cult was through an "energy healer" introduced to her by a personal trainer on the set of the film Detroit.
It was a space mostly made up of women such as teachers and therapists, and suddenly a man appeared who was incredibly confident and charming, which I found interesting, Murray said, without revealing the name of the religious group or its leader.
Murray said she spent thousands of dollars trying to gain "wisdom and specialness," but instead she experienced psychotic episodes and was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward. She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
He said, Ordinary tasks can even feel quite difficult. I no longer meditate. I don't go to crystal shops. I don't do yoga either, because I'm worried something might happen that would feel too mystical to me.
She added, But I have come to realize how pervasive meditation is. I learned how often even strangers suggest meditation as a solution. If you say, 'I can't sleep,' they often ask, 'Have you tried meditating?' Meditation is everywhere and is considered essentially a positive solution.
She said, There are harmless or positive versions, but for me, who was looking for something like a magic wand or a cure-all to completely fix me, that promise felt so alluring and addictive.
Murray, best known for playing Cassie Ainsworth in the drama Skins and Gilly in Game of Thrones, has retired from acting.
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