Andie MacDowell is most known for her role in Four Weddings and a Funeral alongside Hugh Grant. The actor will now appear in Maid, a brand-new Netflix drama series. The actor believed this role stood out in particular because she could relate to the character due to her health issues.
The Netflix series follows Alex, a young mother who escapes an abusive relationship and works as a cleaner to raise her child. Andie’s daughter is Margaret Qualley, who plays Alex. Her daughter, Alex, played by Andie, is a strange untreated bipolar patient. Andie claimed that her daughter initially chose her for the part because of her “personal experiences with mental illness.”
Andie’s mother, like the woman she plays, suffered from bipolar disorder, a mental health illness that affects your moods. Patients with bipolar illness may experience mood swings ranging from mania to depression.
“I have a deep empathy with persons who have this complexity about their personality because there isn’t anything you can do about it; it’s just how Paula is,” Andie said in an interview with Brief Take.
“I know from experience that that dynamic may exist with mental illness, but Paula’s problem is simply that she doesn’t feel complete or worthy without a guy.”
Because of her mother’s illness, Andie has flashbacks to her blue background and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“I’m still working on my anxiousness; getting rid of so much PTSD is difficult,” she said. “You can be sure it’s in your bones and nervous system.”
In an interview with The Guardian, the celebrity revealed a little about her background. She recalls checking in the middle of the night to ensure her mother’s cigarettes were properly extinguished.
“Amazingly, we didn’t burn down; there were burn scars all over the floor and on the couch,” Andie said.
“I think that’s a lot of responsibility for a young child.”
Despite her depression, Andie exploits her past challenges to “identify with” people like Paula.
She also doesn’t bear any resentment against her mother, blaming alcoholism as an “awful condition” instead.
“I don’t have much fury, but I have a lot of compassion,” said the actress.
People who have experienced trauma are more likely to acquire post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the NHS, people with the disease, a form of anxiety disorder, frequently relive unpleasant events through nightmares and flashbacks.
They may struggle to concentrate and, as a result, have difficulty sleeping. Severe symptoms will significantly impact an individual’s daily life.
The symptoms may appear immediately after a person experiences unpleasant events, or they may take months or even years.
The NHS estimates that one in three people who suffer a traumatic event will be affected by PTSD. However, it is unclear why some people experience the disorder and others do not.
There are effective treatments out there regardless of when the illness manifests. After speaking with a medical professional, you will typically be referred to a mental health specialist for additional evaluation and therapy.
The effectiveness of any treatment is based on the severity and timing of the symptoms following the traumatic incident.
Any of the following remedies might be suggested:
Monitoring your symptoms to see if they improve or worsen without therapy is known as “watchful waiting.”
Therapy as a kind of treatment will allow you to work on your thought and behavior patterns and assist you in processing the traumatic incident.
It has been discovered that EMDR, which entails vividly recalling the traumatic event while moving your eyes, typically in response to your therapist’s finger movement, reduces symptoms.
