Amanda Bynes Says She Went Into “A Deep Depression” After ‘She’s The Man’

In Paper magazine’s latest ‘Break The Internet’ issue, Amanda Bynes is back and looking healthier than ever as she opens up about her past drug abuse and dealing with depression.

The actor touched on everything from her addiction issues, the negative impact filming ‘She’s The Man’ had on her mental health, how Twitter was a part of her downfall, and retiring from acting.

Talking about ‘She’s The Man’, Amanda opened up about how her perception of herself as male in the film was a trigger for her own mental health, saying: “I went into a deep depression for 4-6 months because I didn't like how I looked when I was a boy [...] I've never told anyone that.”

She went to say that it was “a super stange and out-of-body experience. It just really put me into a funk."

When chatting about how she’s “been sober for almost four years now,” she went on to speak on her days of experimenting with drugs, adding: “Those days of experimenting [with substances] are long over.”

“I'm not sad about it and I don't miss it because I really feel ashamed of how those substances made me act. When I was off of them, I was completely back to normal and immediately realized what I had done — it was like an alien had literally invaded my body. That is such a strange feeling."

It turns out that ‘Easy A’ may have been Emma Stone’s breakout role, but it was to be the last for Amanda, as she said: “I literally couldn't stand my appearance in that movie and I didn't like my performance. I was absolutely convinced I needed to stop acting after seeing it.”

“I saw it and I was convinced that I should never be on camera again and I officially retired on Twitter, which was, you know, also stupid.”

Though ready to take on the acting world again, Amanda is first going to get her Bachelor’s degree from FIDM and finish what she started. But it’s her new fearless outlook in life that she’s grasping with two hands.

“I think that’s kind of how I go about [life] now — like, what’s there to lose? I have no fear of the future. I’ve been through the worst and came out the other end and survived it so I just feel like it’s only up from here.”