> At a Glance
> – Amanda Seyfried was diagnosed with “really extreme” OCD at 19 while filming Big Love
> – She has taken Lexapro every night since diagnosis and calls it her lifelong tool
> – The actress skipped nightlife and alcohol to manage triggers
> – Why it matters: Her openness challenges stigma around treating mental health as seriously as physical illness
Amanda Seyfried is peeling back the curtain on a private two-decade journey with obsessive-compulsive disorder, showing how early diagnosis and consistent treatment shaped her life and career.
Diagnosis at 19
While shooting Big Love in Marina del Rey, Seyfried felt overwhelmed. Her mom left her Pennsylvania job for a month to stay with her, shuttling her to brain scans that confirmed OCD. That same week she started medication she still takes nightly.
> “I got my brain scans, and that’s when I got on medication – which to this day, I’m on every night.”
Lifestyle Choices
To keep symptoms in check she drew hard boundaries peers didn’t understand.
- No heavy drinking
- Zero drugs
- Early nights instead of clubs
- Canceling plans when anxiety spiked
> “I guess I did make choices…. I didn’t enter that realm of nightclubs. I gotta give credit to my OCD.”
The Medication Debate
In a 2016 interview she already vowed never to quit Lexapro, praising its low dose and reliability.
> “I’ve been on it since I was 19 … I don’t see the point of getting off of it. Whether it’s placebo or not, I don’t want to risk it. And what are you fighting against? Just the stigma of using a tool?”
She argues mental illness deserves the same swift treatment as physical ailments.
> “It should be taken as seriously as anything else. You don’t see the mental illness: It’s not a mass; it’s not a cyst. But it’s there.”
Key Takeaways
- Seyfried has managed OCD for 21 years with daily Lexapro
- She credits strict lifestyle limits for keeping symptoms controlled
- She frames medication as a practical tool, not weakness
- The actress wants mental health stigma erased
Her story underlines that early intervention and consistent care can turn a frightening diagnosis into a manageable, successful life.
