Winona Ryder On Why Being Sensitive Is A Good Thing

It all started with this 1999 interview with Diane Sawyer. Winona Ryder opened up about depression, and since then she hasn’t been able to shake the “crazy girl” reputation.

Winona is back on her A-Game, with the new, hit Netflix show, Stranger Things. In an interview with The Cut, she opened up about about owning your vulnerable side.

“I’m so sick of people shaming women for being sensitive or vulnerable,” she said. “I wish I could unknow this, but there is a perception of me that I’m supersensitive and fragile. And I am supersensitive, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. To do what I do, I have to remain open.”

On Stranger Things, Winona plays the part of Joyce, a single mother whose son passed away under questionable circumstances, and is surrounded by the supernatural. “There’s a line where someone says, ‘She’s had anxiety problems in the past.’ A lot of people have picked up on that, like, ‘Oh, you know, she’s crazy.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, wait a second, she’s struggling. Two kids, deadbeat dad, working her ass off. Who wouldn’t be anxious? Even that word, anxious. It’s a bad word.”

The only question that remains is, how can we stop stigmatizing mental health, and using words like “sensitive” and “vulnerable” like they are a bad thing?

Main image via Winona Ryder on Facebook