It’s easy to look at the modern wellness industry with rose-colored glasses, but Game of Thrones alum Hannah Murray is pulling back the curtain on what she describes as its very dark side. In a deeply personal new memoir, the 36-year-old actress writes about her Hannah Murray wellness cult experience, describing how a foray into self-healing spiraled into a psychotic episode. If you’ve ever been tempted by the promises of “energy healers” and “spiritual awakenings,” Murray’s account is a reminder of how things can go wrong. Everything below is Murray’s own account from her memoir and has not been independently verified.
How a Simple Healing Session Turned Into a Cult Nightmare
Murray, best known for playing Gilly on the HBO hit series Game of Thrones, detailed her experience in her new memoir, The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness. According to the memoir, it began back in 2017 while she was filming the historical drama Detroit. Feeling deeply shaken by the movie’s heavy and violent themes, Murray crossed paths with an energy healer on set whom she refers to as “Grace.”
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What started as a $150 healing session, she says, led to a series of costly classes. Grace promised to unlock Murray’s “spiritual DNA” using “powerful and ancient tools.” Because Grace came recommended by a trusted colleague on set, Murray didn’t think to question her legitimacy.
At the top of the group, Murray writes, was a leader she calls “Steve.” The group and Steve are unnamed in her account.
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The Major Red Flags of a “Spiritual” Organization
Murray describes becoming further involved in the group over time. These are her own recollections of that period.
The Psychotic Episode That Led to a 28-Day Hospitalization
According to Murray, the breaking point of the entire Hannah Murray wellness cult experience happened during an intensive five-day course in London. Her behavior became erratic. She writes that she began speaking “a million miles a second,” experienced hallucinations, and developed a delusion that the group’s leader, Steve, was in love with her and planning to marry her.
Murray writes that the group’s “teachers” chanted, “Be gone, evil spirit in Hannah.”
When medical help arrived, she was taken to a hospital. Under the Mental Health Act, she was held in an acute psychiatric unit for 28 days.
Finding Clarity and a Life-Changing Diagnosis
While her time in the mental health unit was undeniably traumatic, it ultimately led to a breakthrough. Following her hospitalization, Murray was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She says the diagnosis brought her a sense of clarity.
Today, Murray, who Fox News reports is no longer acting, has chosen to speak out about the stigma surrounding serious mental health struggles. While the internet loves to talk about anxiety and depression, the reality of psychotic breaks and psychiatric holds is often swept under the rug.
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By sharing her Hannah Murray wellness cult experience, the actress is encouraging readers to apply critical thinking to the unregulated wellness industry.
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