Nora Tschirner
“I had my first depressive episode when I was 18”
Nora Tschirner suffered from severe depression for years.
© imago images / Eventpress
In an interview, Nora Tschirner speaks openly about previous depression: “I had my first depressive episode when I was 18.”
Inpatient treatment, therapy and a year of psychotropic drugs: actress Nora Tschirner (39, “Gut Gegen Nordwind”) has in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin” Talked openly and honestly about her years of depression. “I had my first depressive episode when I was 18, but the bottom came ten years ago,” admits the 39-year-old. At the time, she felt so bad that she went through a clinic’s checklist online. “It said, if you answered yes to three of the following twenty questions, it would be very good if you came over soon. For me it was 19.”
Her symptoms were among other things “listlessness, tiredness, loss of appetite, anxiety, listlessness and insomnia”. But she was also ashamed of her illness, says Tschirner. “As a privileged person – an actress, a roof over my head, two healthy arms, two healthy legs – I felt that I shouldn’t have my problems at all.”
“I was alone with myself”
She started her first therapy when she was 25 years old. However, the “low point” only came in his early 30s. “Then it got really intense at some point. I had no hold anymore. I was alone with myself. Probably I could never have completely prevented the disease, but if I had taken better care of myself, I would not have fallen that deep.” Tschirner was then treated as an inpatient for two weeks and “took psychotropic drugs for a year”.
The actress explains: “It totally stabilized me. The serotonin could no longer stay long enough in the synapses. It ran through too quickly, I no longer had any feeling of happiness. The drugs were like walking aids, they improved these processes until my body could do it again itself. ”
Tschirner is free of symptoms today
During the therapy, she and her psychologist dealt with the cause of her depression. It turned out that the strongest episodes were always “on the blatant press days, on which one interview follows the next and which never end – and on 16-hour shooting days”, “that is, in time-limited work phases” Tschirner.
It took the actress a long time to overcome her depression. Today the fear is gone. “I have been symptom-free for many years, have established a good environment, take precautions.” She now knows what is good for her. It also helps her to talk to friends or spend time with her horses.
Help with depression is offered by telephone counseling on the free number: 0800/111 0 111