Gillian Anderson has decided now is the time to make her private mental health challenges known to the benefit of fellow women.
"There were times when it was really bad," the X-Files star recalled in an interview with The Guardian. "There have been times in my life where I haven't wanted to leave the house."
While the 48-year-old kept mostly mum about the details of her personal struggles, the actress has recently co-written We: A Manifesto For Women Everywhere, a manual filled with advice she would have given her younger, less confident self.
"I have struggled with self-esteem myself and in looking at the ways that I have dealt with overcoming those things, I started to think that maybe some of it might be potentially useful for other people of all ages," Anderson previously said. With the help of years of therapy and meditation, the star has been able to find her inner joy.
"The things that we might be critical of ourselves about actually don't matter. The only thing that really matters in terms of our peace of mind is our peace of mind itself, and how we react to things," she continued. "All I know is that when I meditate, one goes beyond the physical, and it is possible to tap into a sense of absolute contentment and joy in that place."
Having admitted to being "intolerant" of herself, the Golden Globe winner now encourages all women to find their own acceptance and face reality head on.
"There's an opportunity for fear around every corner, fear of the future, fear of what if," the mother of three continued. "But the acceptance of wherever we are, whoever we are, is freedom. So, you know, I can sit and bemoan the fact that I don't get the same roles, or bemoan the fact that my skin is starting to look like chicken skin, or bemoan whatever it is. But that's not reality. That's fighting reality."
"We're all okay exactly as we are," Anderson reiterated on The View Monday. "I refuse to conform to those societal pressures because actually I feel better being as I am."
"Part of what We is about [is] joining together with other women to start circles, to start that conversation on a wider level."