Hannah Murray’s Struggles with a Health Cult
Hannah Murray opened up about her experience with a health cult back in 2017 that led her into psychosis.
“It’s easy to dismiss the possibility of something like that happening to you,” the ‘Game of Thrones’ actress reflected in an interview with the Guardian. “But when you say things like that, you’re really just limiting yourself. You never know what could happen.”
Murray intends to share the full details in her upcoming memoir, *Pretend Play: A Memoir of Magic and Madness*, noting that she was unaware of the kind of experiences that awaited her. “I thought I was going to dive into all the practices discussed in that book,” she said.
She noted, “I would have thought I was immune to such things, coming from a middle-class, well-educated background. Surely, nothing could go wrong,” she admitted. Yet, the “Skins” alum acknowledged that her confidence led her to make a poor choice. “I thought to myself, ‘I’m smart, I’ll make smart decisions.’ But then I realized—what a terrible decision that was. It’s not about thinking everyone else is foolish; it’s about understanding why people get involved in such things.”
At 36, Murray described how she first encountered the cult through an “energy healer” connected to her personal trainer while she was filming “Detroit.”
“My experience was strangely erotic, despite nothing physical happening. Just being in that charged atmosphere felt invigorating,” she explained. She added that it was interesting to see the cult’s environment, predominantly run by women, shift dramatically when a boldly confident male figure entered the space. “His introduction was laced with a sexual joke, shifting the energy from calm to suddenly provocative,” Murray remarked, speculating that it might have been an intentional tactic.
Murray admitted to spending substantial amounts of money in pursuit of “wisdom and specialness,” only to suffer a psychotic break that led to her hospitalization, where she was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Now, the “Charlie Says” actress has distanced herself from the wellness industry. “Even ordinary activities can feel overwhelming to me now. I don’t meditate, I avoid crystal shops, and I’ve stopped doing yoga. You just can’t predict what might push me beyond my limits,” she said.
She noted the pervasive nature of wellness trends, pointing out how often casual recommendations like meditation come up when someone expresses struggles with sleep. “It’s considered a universally beneficial solution,” she reflected.
“It can appear harmless or even positive. But for someone like me, desperate for a fix or a miracle cure, the allure was hard to resist,” she admitted.
Murray, who gained fame for her roles as Cassie Ainsworth on *Skins* and Gilly on *Game of Thrones*, has retired from acting. Her memoir, *Pretend Play: A Memoir of Magic and Madness*, is set to be released on June 23rd.
