There was some unreasonable reasoning at first.
According to English actor Jessica Barden:
Why did I believe I would pass away each time I boarded a train? Do not use the subway. I reasoned that I couldn’t go underground. Everything will result in my death.
The star of the television series “The End of the (Expletive) World,” Barden, is the first to acknowledge that she has anxiety. She will shout it from the rooftops as she zooms in from a shoot in Australia because her newest MTV movie, “Pink Skies Ahead,” premieres this weekend.
The movie is a part of MTV’s new Mental Health Is Health campaign and was written and filmed by New York Times bestselling author Kelly Oxford.
The coming-of-age story, which takes place in 1998 in Los Angeles, stars Barden as Winona, a college dropout who returns home with her parents. She has been given an anxiety disorder diagnosis, but she is dubious because she hasn’t yet experienced a panic attack.
Winona needs to see a therapist and deal with her mental health concerns when the world around her starts to fall apart.
Barden has personal experience with attempting to neglect mental health.
The 28-year-old describes having anxiety as being like constantly running into a burning building and saying, “Whew, I survived,” when you’re not working on it.
“I had to discover better ways to live. I now wish to convey that message to young people.
Review-Journal: You are quite open about your difficulties with anxiety. How did you respond when you received the “Pink Skies” script?
Jessica Barden: For young people in particular, anxiety is a crucial subject. Although I can’t say I specifically searched for a movie on the subject, I felt quite fortunate when writer-director Kelly Oxford contacted me through direct chat two years ago, right before Christmas. I was returning from a pantomime—a production only performed during Christmastime in England—while residing in London at the time
What aspect of your anxiety was the worst?
It was the exclamation points. Why did I anticipate having a panic attack whenever I boarded a train or even just considered using the subway? I was going to die from everything. This kind of thinking makes life a wild ride. I wasn’t seeing a therapist when I made the movie; I was 26 at the time. I firmly asserted that, in spite of my nervousness, I was alright. You’re an actress, I told myself. You feel things. Your social circle is enormous. Who is concerned with a few anxious moments? Most importantly, I persuaded myself that I didn’t require therapy.
