Former Game of Thrones and Skins star Hannah Murray has opened up about her descent into a wellness cult that led to a psychotic episode and being sectioned. In a new memoir, The Make-Believe, the 36-year-old actress recounts how she was drawn into a spiritual community promising wisdom and specialness, only to suffer a catastrophic breakdown.
Murray, who played Cassie in Skins and Gilly in Game of Thrones, said the acting lifestyle contributed to her vulnerability. She described a cycle of seeking validation through roles, followed by crashes into hedonism involving alcohol, drugs and reckless behaviour. 'I was on this hamster wheel of, “Where’s the thing that’s going to make me feel special for ever?”' she said.
At 27, Murray joined a wellness cult she now describes as 'ludicrous', led by a man who wore a symbolic necklace and carried a giant Starbucks cup. It cost her thousands of pounds and ultimately her mental health. She experienced a psychotic episode so severe that she was sectioned in an acute mental health unit, and later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Now nine years on, Murray lives in an East Anglian town, does not drink or smoke, and no longer acts. She says she feels a 'surge of joy' when she realises she is no longer in the industry. Her memoir explores the convergence of hedonism and the self-help industry that led her into 'the underbelly of the wellness and spiritual world'.
