Emilia Clarke Suffered Self-Esteem Issues Due to This Heartbreaking Reason

Mental HealthApril 3, 2020

Don’t you just love the ever so charming Emilia Clarke? The 32-year-old actress of Game of Thrones, always has a bright smile on her face, which makes one think that she probably never has bad days. But oh, we’ve never been so wrong.

Clarke has had her fair share of health struggles over the past decade, some of which proved to be life-threatening and led to some self-esteem issues. Surprising, isn’t it?

Over the course of filming the George R. R. Martin motion pictures adaptation, the actress suffered two brain aneurysms. The first one came in 2011 and led to a mini-stroke. Thankfully, Emilia recovered after a short stay in hospital.

In a recent interview with Stylist, the actress opened up about how the aneurysms affected her mental health, especially self-image.

Emilia Clarke looking as stunning as ever

Swollen Face

After her first surgery, Emilia revealed that her body was so pumped up with blood and she had a lot of edema, leaving her face swollen most of the time. This left the actress feeling quite unattractive, and that affected her self-esteem deeply. Looking back, she says that she realized it was actually the pain she could see behind her eyes that affected her more than anything.

At the time, the mirror was her enemy. Whenever she saw her reflection, the pain was right there, staring back at her. She decided to save herself from the torture by putting on makeup and avoiding mirrors. Now, she actually thinks that she made her appearance worse back then by having her makeup on without help from the mirror.

The 2011 episode necessitated a 3-hour surgery, and as Emilia Clarke revealed in March, she was in unbearable pain when she woke up. Her vision was also blurred and constricted, and the tube running down her throat didn’t do her any favors. The thirst and nausea she felt complicated matter even more. Aren’t we all glad she finally pulled through?

The actress suffered two brain aneurysms while filming Game of Thrones

After a month-long hospital stay, Emilia was discharged and was back on set two weeks later. After filming the third season of Game of Thrones, however, a brain scan necessitated a second surgery by revealing an aneurysm that was twice the size it was in a previous scan.

This second surgery was more complicated than the first one, and it even had titanium replace parts of Emilia’s skull. After spending another month at the hospital, our beloved actress was released to go do what she does best.

Different Person

Six years later, the surgeries have molded Emilia Clarke into a different, stronger person. Immediately after her hospitalization, she would spend days loathing her appearance and felt tired of her life.

But over half a decade later, she appreciates the surgeries for giving her a new perspective on life. She is now of the notion that if you are not comfortable in your own skin, no matter how much makeup you use or what clothes you wear, you’ll never be truly happy.

For her, beauty is all about what’s on the inside and laughter enhances it. She’s encouraging everyone to join her in her giggle bandwagon, saying that giggles should be celebrated, no matter how silly they make you look.

Emilia Clarke’s laugh is infectious

As you can correctly assume, she has no beef with mirrors anymore. In fact, she states that if you are comfortable with the person looking at you when you step in front of a mirror, there’s nothing more you need.