Sophie Turner says she dealt with depression during 'Game of Thrones'

(CNN) -- Sophie Turner says criticism over her role on Game of Thrones was one of the reasons that led to her depression.

Turner, who plays Sansa Stark on the HBO hit series, said in an interview with Dr. Phil on his podcast Phil in the Blanks, that she started to become depressed around age 17.

"The biggest challenge is just for me getting out of bed and getting out of the house and learning to love yourself I think is the biggest challenge," said the now 23-year-old.

She said she felt alone after her friends and brothers moved away for college, while she was working on Game of Thrones and living with her parents. Social media became a "catalyst" for her depression, she said.

"It only started to kind of go downhill I think when I started to hit puberty, and really puberty, though, at like 17," she said. "My metabolism was like slowing down massively, and I was gaining weight. And then there was the social media scrutiny and everything, and that was when it kind of hit me."

Turner said, at the time, she was more sensitive about what people would say about her on social media. She said she would read comments talking about her weight and skin as well as criticism about her acting.

"I would just believe it," she said. "I would just say, 'Yeah, I am spotty. Yeah I am fat. I am a bad actress.' And I just believed it."

It got so bad at one point that Turner admitted she "used to think about suicide a lot."

"It's weird. I say I wasn't very depressed when I was younger, but I used to think about suicide a lot when I was younger. I don't know why though," she explained. "Maybe it's just a weird fascination I used to have, but yeah, I used to think about it. I don't think I ever would have gone through with it. I don't know."

She said now she feels much better since seeking therapy and treatment.

"I love myself now, or more than I used to, I think. I don't think I love myself at all, but I'm now with someone that makes me realise, you know, that I do have some redeeming qualities I suppose," she said, referencing her fiancé Joe Jonas. "When someone tells you they love you every day, it makes you really think about why that is, and I think it makes you love yourself a little bit more, so, yeah, I love myself."

By Kendall Trammell, CNN

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