Stranger Things star Shannon Purser opened up to her fans on Tuesday, April 11 when she revealed in a series of heartfelt tweets that she’s suffered “anxiety” over her sexuality.
The actress, who played Barb on the hit show, and is now a star on Riverdale, got candid about her feelings admitting she was scared about discovering who she is.
“Getting comfortable with your sexuality is a process.” she wrote. “It’s going to be ok. I wish I’d known that sooner.”
The breakout beauty continued. “Another thing I wish I’d known about sexuality is to take it slow. It can define you as much as you want it to.”
She then added: “Either way, I know what it’s like to have anxiety about it. Especially trying to come to terms with it and my faith. It can be really scary.”
Getting comfortable with your sexuality is a process. It's going to be ok. I wish I'd known that sooner.
— Shannon Purser (@shannonpurser) April 11, 2017
Another thing I wish I'd known about sexuality is to take it slow. It can define you as much as you want it to.
— Shannon Purser (@shannonpurser) April 11, 2017
Either way, I know what it's like to have anxiety about it. Especially trying to come to terms with it and my faith. It can be really scary.
— Shannon Purser (@shannonpurser) April 11, 2017
But it's gonna be ok. You're going to be ok. No, you're going to be great.
— Shannon Purser (@shannonpurser) April 11, 2017
But she signed off by assuring her fans and anyone else going through the same struggles that it they’d be alright.
“But it’s gonna be ok. You’re going to be ok. No, your’e going to be great.”
Purser, 19, previously spoke to Us Weekly about battling self-harming, depression and anxiety and how she dealt with suicidal thoughts.
“I felt so isolated and so unworthy of love,” she told Us in an exclusive interview. “I just had to go to my parents and say, ‘I think I really need help or I’m going to continue to fall apart.’”
Purser revealed she turned to self-harm because she felt alone, but luckily, through therapy and her strong religious faith, she was able to recover, and hasn’t self-harmed since she was 15.
“The most evil and insidious thing about mental illness is that it isolates us and makes us feel so different that we think no one can possibly relate,” declared Purser. “In the end, that can be how it destroys us if we don’t let people into our struggle. And as cliché as it sounds, if you really make the effort, you can get better and you can live not just a hard life, but a beautiful life.”
Check out her full interview with Us here.
