Rose McGowan thinks her role in the Harvey Weinstein scandal has "knocked years" off her life.
Rose McGowan
The 45-year-old actress was one of the first people to speak out against the disgraced movie mogul, accusing him of raping her in a hotel room in 1997, and though she is honoured that her revelation prompted other people to confide in her about the abuse they have experienced in her own lives, she admitted it has been draining.
She said: "[This time last year] I was not in a good place. Writing the book ('Brave') meant reliving things, and I felt like there were ghosts all around me.
"Everyone asked me about the hotel room incident [in interviews]. Each question was re-traumatising."
Discussing people confiding in her, she added to Stella magazine: "It's a lot, to be a receptacle for pain. But I honour their stories because it is often the first time they're telling anybody this.
"I think it's definitely knocked years off my life. My brain and my strength were severely sapped; I felt like a boxer on the ropes every day. And it went on and on for months."
To escape the pressure, Rose went to stay with friends in Sicily and found her period of "life rehab" very beneficial.
She said: "I called it life rehab. I was with some great people that were warm and wonderful and who helped patch me back together.
"I'm more gentle with myself now. I haven't been tweeting much, and I think that's good for my brain and my sanity."
The 'Charmed' star has also stopped taking medication for depression and admitted traditional therapy "doesn't work" for her.
She said: "It just doesn't work for me. I usually go three times - on the third time I get deep, and then I never return.
"My therapy is reading, escaping into other worlds, and other rooms and other lives. I think that's always been my form of therapy."
Rose also credits her partner 29-year-old non-binary model Rain Dove, for helping her stay "anchored".
She said: "Rain is a really grounding force, and it's anchored me. I think I was just really tired of toxic, macho male energy.
"It's really nice to be with someone who's not like that."
But the couple have no plans to marry.
Rose said: "I don't like the government having a say in my life. If I want to break up with somebody, I don't need your permission."
And while the 'Scream' star opted not to have biological children, she hasn't ruled out adoption in future.
She said: "I wouldn't have put a kid through everything I have been through; I had to make a conscious decision to go it alone. But I might adopt at some point."
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