‘Girls’ Star Zosia Mamet Opens Up About Eating Disorder


Zosia Mamet struck it big when she snagged a role on the HBO series GIRLS. At first her role wasn’t supposed to extend past a few episodes, but since the airing of the first season her character has been essential to the show just as much as any from the ensemble cast.

When you’re an actress, especially one that’s starting out, you usually don’t hear many that are as open as honest as Mamet was when she decided to write about her eating disorder in Glamour magazine.

Zosia opened up about her struggles in an effort to get others to start a dialogue about eating disorders. “To battle this all-too-common beast, we’ve got to start talking.” As stated she describes her experience in a brave essay for Glamour.

“This struggle has been mostly a private one, a war nobody knew was raging inside me. I tried to fight it alone for a long time. And I nearly died.”

Breaking her eating disorder down into different subtitles, the GIRLS actress highlights the hard facts, where she discusses what’s not being talked about in the community, and her own personal story.

Zosia’s story started when she was eight years old. She documents that it was the first time anyone had ever called her “fat” even though she wasn’t. For many reasons this left a lasting impression on Mamet. She likens it to a monster.

“There has been a monster in my brain that tells me I am—that convinces me my clothes don’t fit or that I’ve eaten too much. At times it has forced me to starve myself, to run extra miles, to abuse my body.”

The actress also goes into her recovery, and pointed out a specific moment that affected her deeply.

“My dad eventually got me into treatment. He came home one night from a party, took me by the shoulders, and said, “You’re not allowed to die.” It was the first time I realized this wasn’t all about me. I didn’t care if I died, but my family did.”

Lastly, Zosia discusses that other “monster.” The latter sees Mamet standing up to our society that congratulates waif-like figures and harps on the slogans like the thinner the better. This, she says, only justifies the obsessive nature of the illness.

“We must demand that our media figure out another way to sell things to us. It’s not going to be easy,” she writes.

Mamet ends her essay on an encouraging note in hopes to change the way we talk about weight issues.

“The first step, I think, is for those of us who are suffering to start talking about it: people like me, who have been diagnosed, and people who live in that gray area of ‘food control issues.’ We all suffer in some small way; we are all a little bit ashamed of that second cupcake. Let’s diminish the stigma.”

Hopefully this is only the beginning of changing the way society looks at beauty.

[Image via HBO]

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