Marvel star Karen Gillan is no longer fighting against her anxiety. The actress learned a lot about herself in the past few years—including how vital a role exercise plays in both her physical and mental wellness. As the cover star for the Self-Care issue of Women’s Health, she opens up about her new agenda, which also includes plenty of time to reflect on her dreams and desires. Just call it superpowered self-care. Plus, in her episode of the Women’s Health “Body Scan” video series, Karen reveals what she loves most about her body, lets us in on her on-set injury, shares why she doesn’t have any tattoos (yet), how she uses meditation and manicures are self-care, and more.
On how curiosity about other people’s lived experiences led her to the role of tortured bionic antihero Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy – a role she’ll reprise in this summer’s Thor: Love and Thunder: “My favorite thing about playing Nebula is exploring what it feels like to be the scapegoated sibling within a toxic family dynamic. Before I even got the role, that drew me to it. There’s a lot of material there.”
On her anxiety, which has gotten worse since she found fame: “Some days I don’t feel anxious at all; then others, I’m like, ‘I can’t do this. This is insane. This is a big, huge movie and I have to do this in front of people. There’s no way.’
On adopting a new technique to deal with her anxiety: “With anxiety, our instinctive response is to suppress it and tell yourself not to be scared and to stop feeling it. I invite all of the anxiety in. It may sound weird, but I’ve been researching the psychology of it.”
On shifting her posture throughout the day to be more upright, reminding herself to take up more space: “That’s one physical affirmation I try to do with myself—just get into a more confident body position. I roll my shoulders back, sit up tall, and stop fidgeting.”
On the importance of setting boundaries (“It’s vital in terms of self-care”) and the importance of voicing her feelings aloud: “If you don’t communicate, you’ll harbor resentment. I’m starting to talk more freely now. The fact that I ever had to dampen that is quite concerning.”
The July/August 2022 issue of Women’s Health, the Self-Care Issue, featuring Karen Gillan, hits newsstands nationwide on June 28.
[Photo Credit: Aingeru Zorita for Women’s Health Magazine]
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