Keira Knightley reveals she was diagnosed with PTSD aged 22 after struggling to cope with pressure of movie fame
Keira, now 33, was overwhelmed by the attention from her roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and Love Actually
KEIRA Knightley has revealed she had a breakdown aged 22 as she struggled with the pressure of movie fame.
The Hollywood actress said she was diagnosed with PTSD and had to take a year off.
Keira, now 33, was overwhelmed by the attention from her roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and Love Actually.
She said in a US podcast: “I did have a mental breakdown at 22, so I did take a year off and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I went deep into therapy. From the inside, all you’re hearing is the criticism. I literally felt like I was worthless.”
She was just 17 when she found fame in Bend It Like Beckham in 2002. Keira won Oscar and Bafta nominations aged 21 and 22 for Pride & Prejudice and Atonement.
But she admitted she had hypnotherapy to find the confidence to go to the Baftas in 2008.
She said: “I hadn’t been out of the house for three months.
“I actually did hypnotherapy so that I could stand on the red carpet at the Baftas and not have a panic attack.
“I felt pretty much like actually I didn’t exist and I was this weird creature with this weird face that people seemed to respond to in quite an extreme way, and I couldn’t quite figure any of it out.”
Keira now feels fine and has daughter Edie, three, with husband James Righton, 35, of indie band The Klaxons.
She said: “It’s amazing looking back at it from the outside.
“But I’m in a good place where I feel pretty confident about what I can do.”
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