Hannah Murray – who is best known for her work in Game of Thrones and Skins – has recalled an agonizing experience which landed her in a psych ward after her involvement in an ‘energy healing’ cult.
The 36-year-old now retired English actress – who previously recalled her psychotic breakdown – candidly discussed the events that led her to being institutionalized, the ensuing fallout, and a diagnosis that helped bring more clarity into her life.
In 2016, the thespian found herself at a career crossroads after her signature roles and wanted to take her acting to another level when she landed a gig in Kathryn Bigelow-directed flick Detroit.
It was then when she was introduced to an ‘energy-healing’ cult and its leader whom she refers to as Steve.
Murray detailed the experience in her memoir The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness published on Tuesday as an excerpt from The Cut detailed how she landed herself into a psychiatric ward.
She wrote: ‘I was on the last day of an energy-healing course held in the basement of a hotel in London, hours away from my initiation ceremony, when I was taken to the hospital. Even after I was told I was being involuntarily committed, I was not concerned.
Hannah Murray (pictured in Belfast back in April 2019) – who is best known for her work in Game of Thrones and Skins – has recalled an agonizing experience which landed her in a psych ward after her involvement in an ‘energy healing’ cult
From season two through eight of Game Of Thrones, she portrayed the character of Gilly on the HBO series
‘Steve told me I had been possessed by a demon while filming Detroit. He had performed an exorcism on me. So I was concerned only with the energy I could feel spiraling up through my body and the voices I could hear in my head. And with Steve: my King, my God, my great love and my most frequently contacted on WhatsApp.’
Murray went on to share some of her messages with Steve as she constantly and obsessively bombarded him with messages to a 20-to-1 ratio.
After some time in the ward, she said that she had finally snapped and then expressed her anger at Steve and even went as far as calling him a cult leader.
He ended up replying with two lengthy messages where he insisted that he was not a cult leader and she has free will.
After three weeks in the ward, she was finally released and began seeing a psychiatrist where she unpacked many things including depression, drug use, and self-harm.
Eventually, the psychiatrist helped her realize something that she had been struggling with all along as she wrote: ‘Bipolar disorder. It made sense. I was thinking about a friend’s phone call back in October, her concern about the increasing intensity of my high highs and low lows.
‘Bipolar disorder had felt, at that point, like the unspoken words beneath her concern. I hadn’t wanted to admit then that there was anything wrong. But it was harder, in the light of recent events, to really continue to believe everything was fine.’
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mental health condition that causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration.
The 36-year-old now retired English actress (pictured May 2019 in New York- who previously recalled her psychotic breakdown – candidly discussed the events that led her to being institutionalized, the ensuing fallout, and a diagnosis that helped bring more clarity into her life
Murray went on to write that she felt relief as it helped provide an explanation for several years of challenges and that Steve’s explanation that she was ‘possessed by a demon’ was not the actual answer.
Murray’s memoir was first announced back in 2024.
She said at the time that the book, ‘Tells a deeply personal story that has lived inside me for many years and which it now feels vital to share.’
Murray began her acting career when she was cast as Cassie in the E4 teen drama series Skins.
Murray began her acting career when she was cast as Cassie in the E4 teen drama series Skins (seen above)
She also appeared in other projects such as Chatroom (2010), Wings (2011) and God Help The Girl (2014).
From season two through eight of Game Of Thrones, she portrayed the character of Gilly on the HBO series.
Her last acting credit was in the 2020 series Expecting. Murray previously revealed that she took a break away from acting to complete an English Literature degree at Queens’ College while attending Cambridge University.
Murray’s memoir The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness is on bookshelves now.
