Welcome to Episode 125 of The Madhappy Podcast. This week, we are running one of our favorite episodes from the archive. We are excited to welcome Maisie Williams onto the show to hear more about her experiences starring as a young actress on a globally renowned television series and the effects it has had on her mental health.

We kick off the episode as Maisie opens up about her struggle to find and understand her identity in real life while playing Arya Stark in the Game of Thrones franchise (6:25). Peiman asks Maisie how she worked to balance her personal and professional life throughout her time on set (9:17), leading the two into a conversation about personas and people pleasing (16:57).

Maisie speaks about her experiences with therapy, sharing how she worked to build a toolkit to support her mental health on an ongoing basis (22:48).  Peiman and Maisie discuss why Maisie chose to step away from acting for a period of time after GoT (28:17) before we wrap up as Maisie talks more on her recent motivation to reconnect with acting in a way that feels organic and meaningful (32:44).

We talk about some serious topics on this show. We are not professionals and are not giving advice. If you or someone you know needs help, please text start to 741741 and for additional resources please visit ⁠LocalOptimist.com/Get-Help⁠

The Madhappy Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Follow us: ⁠@Madhappy⁠ | ⁠@LocalOptimist⁠

Visit us: ⁠Madhappy.com⁠ | ⁠LocalOptimist.com