Hannah Murray Joins Wellness Cult, Is Sectioned
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Hannah Murray left acting and joined a wellness cult at age 27, which led to a psychotic episode, her being sectioned in an acute mental health unit, and a later diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
- Hannah Murray authored the memoir The Make‑Believe, a frank and darkly funny exploration of the convergence of hedonism and the self‑help industry.
- Grace, an “energy healer” introduced by Murray’s personal trainer on the set of Detroit, offered Murray a Reiki session for £150 and a class to “sort her shit out”.
- Siobhan, a London‑based facilitator wearing a symbolic necklace, ran a class for Murray that cost £700 and involved rituals to protect against other people’s energy.
- Hannah Murray now avoids wellness practices such as meditation, yoga, and crystal shops, describing them as potentially distressing and “woo‑woo”.
- Hannah Murray criticizes the wellness industry for lacking critical thought and being transformed into an exploitative industry that preys on vulnerable young people.
- Hannah Murray holds an English degree from Cambridge and has acted in Skins, Game of Thrones, Bridgend, Detroit, and Charlie Says.
Why it matters: Murray’s account highlights how the wellness industry can lure educated, middle‑class individuals into costly, harmful practices, underscoring the need for greater consumer vigilance and critical scrutiny of self‑help services, and warning that vulnerable young people may be exploited without proper oversight.
