While she is struggling to cope with mental health issues, the 'Tolkien' actress finds there is something powerful in encouraging others to have a conversation about how they are feeling.
- Oct 1, 2020
AceShowbiz - Lily Collins has learned to embrace her anxiety issues amid the coronavirus lockdown.
The newly-engaged actress reveals the time she has spent alone getting to know herself better during the pandemic has made her more open to talk about her mental health struggles.
"As a human being I'm constantly evolving and growing and I'm going to have insecurities," Collins tells PEOPLE. "We're being thrown these unprecedented situations as a global experience that if we just stay open and willing to embrace what's happening and embrace our emotions and express them and share with other people, I think we'll all feel less alone in our struggles."
The actress, who detailed her battle with an eating disorder in her 2017 book "Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me", reveals that despite being more open, she is still struggling to cope with anxiety.
"Even as someone who has written about it, I still experience moments of course where I'm going, 'Oh my God, I have so much anxiety. I'm really stressed,' " she adds.
Collins, who recently announced she's set to wed director Charlie McDowell, has found comfort in connecting with others.
She adds, "The second I have a conversation about how I'm feeling and someone else goes, 'Oh, God. Yeah. I was feeling that way as well', even if the situation is different but the emotions are the same, you can connect as humans and go, 'OK, we're all going through this and therefore I can learn and grow from the situation and feel supported and support someone else in it and it's not as scary as it may seem.' "
"I just think to encourage that is so powerful."
