Actress Hannah Murray, known for her role as Gilly in Game of Thrones, has revealed her troubling experience with a wellness cult that led to a severe psychotic break. In an interview with The Guardian, she discussed how she became involved and eventually escaped the organization.
Murray highlighted the lack of critical examination of the wellness industry. She emphasized the danger of thinking such situations could never happen to oneself. “It’s important to understand why people do these things,” she stated, rather than simply dismissing those involved as foolish.
Murray was introduced to the cult through an “energy healer” she met on the set of her 2017 film Detroit. The intense subject matter of the film prompted her to seek guidance from someone she referred to as Grace. Initially, she engaged in a $150 healing session, leading her to participate in more classes within the organization.
She described her state during this period as vulnerable. The allure of discovering a magical world beneath reality captivated her. “When I was going through psychosis, my brain was a cocktail of those stories,” she recalled, feeling destined to save the world.
Murray eventually met the cult’s leader, identified as Steve. She perceived him as possessing extraordinary power, stating, “I knew I was in the presence of a magician.” Her breaking point came during a five-day course in London, where she experienced a psychotic episode compounded by hallucinatory experiences.
During this episode, fellow cult members surrounded her, chanting to expel an “evil spirit.” Following this, she was hospitalized under the Mental Health Act and diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Currently, Murray is cautious of wellness activities and stresses the importance of discussing mental health, particularly conditions beyond anxiety and depression. “It felt really important to say, ‘I went through this,'” she noted, acknowledging that many face similar challenges. This openness aims to reduce stigma around mental health issues and those who experience them.