Jennette McCurdy talks mental health and memoir

As Jennette McCurdy entered the Tutor Campus Center Ballroom Tuesday night, the room erupted with applause, excited to see a lifelong friend after so many years. A former child actor most known for her role as Sam in Nickelodeon’s “iCarly,” many Trojans grew up watching McCurdy throughout their childhoods.

Changing the narrative from former child actor, McCurdy released the New York Times bestseller “I’m Glad My Mom Died” in August. Describing writing as something that feels the most authentic to her, McCurdy’s memoir details her multifaceted and complicated relationship with her mother and her experiences forced into the entertainment industry at such a young age.

The Undergraduate Student Government Speaker’s Committee, Academic Culture Assembly, Student Assembly for Gender Empowerment, Performing Arts Committee and Special Events Committee organized the event. 

Sitting down for a conversation with attendees, McCurdy answered questions about her personal experiences in the entertainment industry and how it negatively affected her mental health.

McCurdy discussed how her mother forced her to be an actress to live vicariously through her, because her mother had a lifelong dream of being an actress. She opened up about the negative repercussions of being a child actor such as dealing with eating disorders, the fear of rejection, her journey with therapy and other mental illnesses. 

Mallory Norton, a freshman majoring in architecture, said there are benefits of such open discussion of mental illness.

“To make something so normal, normal… makes people feel less horrible about things that they can’t control,” Norton said.  “[McCurdy] is so open and so honest about anxiety and her mental health struggles is really important.”

According to the American Psychological Association’s Healthy Minds Study, more than 60% of college students meet the criteria for at least one mental health problem. 

“I think it is just really important to make people feel [mental struggles] are normal,” Norton said. “Someone who’s so famous and has had all these incredible achievements has also struggled with things that the average Joe has.” 

McCurdy also opened up about her extensive journey in therapy, saying that her six-year journey helped her gain perspective on the trauma from her past. Beyond recognizing her past struggles, therapy helped McCurdy handle her complicated grief with the death of her mother, anxiety, her eating disorder and the press.

“Discussion about mental health encourages conversations between other people, so that you can relate your own experiences and empathize with other people and seek the help that you need,” said Bella Childre, a freshman majoring in health and human sciences, about the significance of the event. 

One of the biggest obstacles McCurdy faced was the complicated grief that she went through after the death of her mother. Grieving the person who raised her but also taught her how to restrict calories at the age of 11 was tough for McCurdy, she said. 

“[McCurdy is] trying to destigmatize therapy, and I thought it was overall a really great conversation, definitely different from her like ‘iCarly’ days. She’s a lot more mature,” said Jefferson Nguyen, a graduate student studying aerospace engineering. 

McCurdy recounted how she was described as a “little adult,” despite being a six-year-old during her first acting project. Being a child actor forced her to grow up fast which, in turn, stunted her maturity during her adolescence, leaving her stuck in that “little adult” phase. 

“Everybody looked at Sam [McCurdy’s role in iCarly] and was like, ‘Oh yeah, she’s cool.’  Everybody wanted to be best friends with Sam, and seeing somebody that everyone loves, being so normal, makes it really special and really connects you to her,” Norton said.

McCurdy also spoke on her successful reinvention from child actor to New York Times bestselling writer. From her weekly bombardment from people on the street yelling “Sam, fried chicken!,” to people now sharing how her book helped them overcome mental struggles and eating disorders, McCurdy has asserted and found herself outside of her previous roles.

Childre agrees with McCurdy: “To see her after [‘iCarly’] and see how she’s grown into herself was really inspiring, to see that she was able to work through [her mental struggles] in therapy and through the process of writing a book and that you can grow out of negative experiences in a positive manner.”

McCurdy continues to write and is currently undergoing the process of writing a novel, as well continuing her works as a director and a new upcoming project that McCurdy exclaimed is her favorite thus far.