While Ellie in ‘The Last of Us’ has to find a way through a zombie infested dystopian world, Bella Ramsey, who plays that character in HBO’s adaptation of the play-station game, has found her way out of many mental health struggles. What can we learn from their journey?
Ellie Williams – The Last of Us
Being the centre of attention may seem like a dream for many of us. But being recognised and wanted can be daunting when everybody wants a piece of you. In the case of Ellie in ‘The Last of Us, that could well be the literal truth. Surviving the infection of the Cordycep Fungus that turns people into zombies, Ellie is wanted as she may be the answer to a cure. It’s a scary thought when the world wants you for a lab-experiment.
Bella Ramsey
As a young child star and gaining almost instant fame from The Game of Thrones, Bella Ramsey went from shy kids with very little friends to everyone knowing her. Add on endless punishing shooting schedules and Ramsey slipped into an eating disorder. Her journey out of that struggle as mentioned in her twitter account, included much counselling as well as her faith.
By the time, news broke about her leaving the fourth season of ‘The Worst Witch’, Ramsey was on her way to recovery. Like Ellie in The Last of Us, Ramsey gained much wisdom in this journey. She says:
‘I’m not going to do this fourth season because it’s not worth it, because I’m in a better place now. This is not something that I want to continue to string out and have the recurring issues that stem from that first season. I don’t need or want to do this anymore.’
What about us
While we may not have to dodge zombies or countless fans, many of us may feel the same drain of running endlessly with demands of everyday life. How do you choose what to say yes to? How can you tell when your mind and body says “it’s enough”? What’s your self-care plan?
Let’s see what we can learn from ‘The Last of Us’.
