Sophie Turner started therapy amid pressure to lose weight

May 3 (UPI) -- Sophie Turner started therapy as a teenager amid immense pressure to lose weight.

The 23-year-old British actress recalled in the June issue of Marie Claire Australia how film and TV studios told her to slim down after she started going through puberty.

"My metabolism suddenly decided to fall to the depths of the ocean and I started to get spotty and gain weight, and all of this was happening to me on camera," she told the magazine.

Turner experienced mental health issues as she navigated her awkward teenage years in the spotlight. She used therapy as a way to cope with the pressures of fame.

"I have experienced mental illness firsthand and I've seen what it can do to the people around [the sufferers] as well," the star said.

"Everyone needs a therapist, especially when people are constantly telling you you're not good enough and you don't look good enough," she added. "I think it's necessary to have someone to talk to, and to help you through that."

Turner was just 13 years old when she landed the role of Sansa Stark on the HBO series Game of Thrones. She previously discussed her struggle with depression in an interview on the Phil in the Blanks podcast with Dr. Phil McGraw.

"The biggest challenge -- and I've had it for the longest of all my mental health problems -- is my depression. I've suffered depression for five or six years now," she said. "Learning to love yourself is the biggest challenge, I think."

Game of Thrones is in the midst of its eighth and final season. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss recalled the failed original pilot during Thursday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!