Jesse Eisenberg on anxiety: "You blame and punish yourself for feelings that are quite normal"

Academy Award-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg is helping break the stigmas around mental health by taking openly about it. On "Salon Talks," he opened up about his own experiences with OCD, his fans, and his advocacy work.Show more

"I write and act in plays and I play characters with anxiety a lot of times, and people come after the show and tell me you've inspired me because I have anxiety," Eisenberg told SalonTV's Mary Elizabeth Williams.

Referencing a video he made about his experiences with anxiety for Child Mind Institute, a non-profit supporting children and families with mental health issues, Eisenberg said, "I think it's probably helpful for younger people to hear. It would have been helpful for me to hear that too from somebody older who seems like me but seems to be functioning in society and doing well in a certain area."

In the video, Eisenberg gave advice to his younger self. "It's not the worst thing in the world to have these feelings, even though it might feel like, having that anxiety might be indicative of other beneficial and positive characteristics," he said.

Watch the full "Salon Talks" episode with Eisenberg to hear about his newest role as a cheating stock trader in "The Hummingbird Project," in theaters March 15, and his take on being called unusual.