Alison Brie thinks she’ll struggle with depression and body dysmorphia her "whole life".
The 37-year-old actress recalled how she spends time before big events in tears and convinced that she looks "disgusting" and it makes her particularly sad when she looks back on old photos and realises the truth is very different.
Asked if she still struggles with body dysmorphia, she told Women’s Health magazine: "Oh definitely. Still do. I go back to red carpet photos where I thought I looked so horrible, and there are some where I now think, God, I looked beautiful.
"And I’ll remember; an hour before that I was in tears; I thought I was so disgusting. I think it’s something I’ll probably be working through my whole life. And depression too."
But training to play a female wrestler in ‘GLOW’ has helped Alison "times a million" as she’s proud of how strong and physically fit she’s become.
She said: "It helped with my relationship to my body times a million. Before, I always felt at odds with it; I wanted it to be something it wasn’t. But I didn’t have the tools to do that in a healthy way."
Depression runs in the former ‘Mad Men’ star’s family and she finds that the low moods can "come out of nowhere and really blindside" her and she’s found fitness the best way to combat those periods.
She said: "When I’ve been in a really serious depression, I’ll drag myself to a yoga class — even if I don’t want to be around people — tears streaming down my face. But, get in class, get out of your head, get blood flowing. It ends up helping eventually."
Alison praised her husband, Dave Franco, for his support with her struggles.
She said: "I’m so lucky I’m married to a really wonderful, open person. We have great lines of communication, and I can talk often about my feelings."
And she admitted the 34-year-old actor has learned a lot from her.
She added: "It’s been funny talking to him about it. He said, ‘Before I knew you, I’m not sure I believed body dysmorphia was a real thing. It’s so interesting to me what you see — and what I’m seeing when I’m looking at you — and the frank discussions we have about it.’ "
Alison Brie’s lifelong struggle
