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Modern Family’s Ariel Winter Gives Mental Health Update, Explains Reason for Weight Loss

Ariel Winter Weight Loss Due to Antidepressants
Ariel Winter attends the grand opening of KAOS Dayclub & Nightclub at Palms Casino Resort on April 05, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for Palms Casino Resort

Allow her to explain! Ariel Winter didn’t hold back when a follower on Instagram asked her why she’s “so thin” — and she got very honest about her personal struggles in the process.

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“For years I had been on anti depressants that caused me to gain weight that I couldn’t lose no matter what I did,” the Modern Family star, 21, explained during an Instagram Story Q&A on Tuesday, April 9. “It was always frustrating for me because I wanted to be able to get fit and feel like the work I was doing was paying off, but it never felt that way.”

Winter noted that at one point she “accepted it and moved on” and stayed on the “medications because the process is really long and difficult” to change and she “wasn’t ready to go through” it again. Last year, however, she decided she was sick of feeling stuck and took control of finding a new “combination of medication” that worked for her. She added that her decision to take matters into her own hands did not have to do with her weight.

Ariel Winter Instagram Story Antidepressants
Courtesy of Ariel Winter/Instagram

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The Last Movie Star actress continued: “The change in medication instantly made me drop all of the weight I couldn’t lose before by just giving me back a metabolism. That was very unexpected. While I feel better mentally with the change, it’s nice to work out and have your body actually respond, but I want to gain a few pounds of muscle and get healthier.”

Winter concluded with a nod to her curvier figure. “Also want my butt back…”

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However, medication isn’t the only way Winter focuses on her mental health. The California native got real about how she deals with her struggles during the Q&A.

“I’ve been in therapy every week for 6 years and I don’t know where I’d be without it,” Winter shared. “I’ve grown so much as a person and been able to learn how to deal with things from my past that affect my present. It’s a journey so I’m not all the way there, but I’m doing pretty good :).”

Aside from professional help, Winter credits the support from those around her — including her “furbabies” — for being in a good place mentally. “There’s nothing shameful about seeing a therapist or being on medication,” she wrote. “We don’t need to hide our struggles even though I know how hard it is to share. We are doing something to better our own lives. Always take care of yourself and don’t listen to anyone telling you it doesn’t exist or it’s something to keep to yourself.”

Winter has been open about her mental health in the past, even taking a social media break in July 2018 due to negative comments from online trolls.

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