“A Full-On Breakdown” – TV Actress Speaks Out About Her Personal Life

Mischa Barton recently spoke out about her personal life in an interview with People magazine.

The 27-year-old was committed to a psychiatric ward in 2009 after an alleged suicide threat.

Barton says that the pressure of her partying lifestyle became too much and she suffered a “full-on breakdown.”

“It was terrifying,” she said. “Straight out of Girl, Interrupted. Story of my life.”

Her role as Marissa Cooper in The O.C launched her straight into the media spotlight, something she wasn’t prepared for at all.

Mischa was arrested in December 2007 and charged with both marihuana possession and drink driving.

Then in 2009, when she was starring in The Beautiful Life, her parents staged an intervention. Barton told People that she took a prescribed Xanax to handle the anxiety and blacked out.

Marissa with her on-screen boyfriend Ryan in The O.C

“I was never suicidal,” she told People. “I was just overworked and depressed. But one slip of the tongue in a heightened moment and you find yourself in that situation.”

This put her under scrutiny from the media which led to her taking a break from Hollywood life.

She went to London, and then to Paris, to get better. She gained weight, which got her more tabloid scrutiny.

“When you’re 16, you’re not what you are at 25. I was really young and just had not filled out at all,” Barton said of the changes in her body.

“Not everybody stays the same body type. It was always ‘She’s too skinny, she must be sick.’ Then it was, ‘she’s too big.’ I was never the right weight.”

The actress is planning a Hollywood comeback with new movie projects and a television pilot in the pipeline.

“I needed to take this time for me,” Barton said.  “I’ve learned a lot.  I’m stronger now and excited for what’s ahead.”