Shannon Purser Talks Mental Health & the Importance of Therapy

Trigger Warning: This post contains language about suicidal ideation and mental health.

Shannon Purser penned a powerful essay about dealing with depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

The Stranger Things actress opened up about her mental health struggles in the piece for Teen Vogue.

She begins by talking about a mental breakdown she had the night before her biology final was due.

“Up until that point, I’d been wearily battling the demons that plagued me every day; silently suffering and feeling completely unable to share my thoughts with anyone. That night, though, I gave up,” she writes. “My will to fight was gone, and as my mother tried to help me finish the project, I broke down and said what I’d been thinking: ‘I don’t want to be alive.’”

Shannon goes on to reveal the process that led to her OCD and depression diagnoses, explaining how “that was a huge relief, because now my struggles had a name and could be reckoned with.”

“Looking back, I wish I’d been able to reach out for help sooner,” Shannon remarks while discussing the importance of support systems, therapy, knowledge, and more.

To read Shannon‘s full essay, head to TeenVogue.com.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text Crisis Text Line at 741-741.