Shannon Purser

I didn't even have a career before 'Stranger Things' - it was my first acting job, my first time on a professional set, and my character wasn't even supposed to be a big deal - it all just exploded.

I'm seeing a lot of roles written explicitly for plus-size women, which is so cool.

I did have an emo phase. It was sort of like armor for me.

I feel that responsibility to really be authentic with people because I think that's what they deserve, especially in a time when it's very easy for people in the public eye to sort of cultivate an image.

The most evil and insidious thing about mental illness is that it isolates us and makes us feel so different that we think no one can possibly relate.

It's very important to me that people know that depression doesn't discriminate. A lot of people look at people who have depression and think that it's not legitimate because they're wealthy or it looks like everything seems to be doing fine. But it doesn't pick and choose. It can affect anybody in the brain, no matter how perfect your life seems.

I'm pretty introverted and I spend a lot of time in books, a lot of time thinking and by myself, because that's what I enjoy to recharge.

I think there were so many times that I just felt so overwhelmed by school and by my relationships with my friends and I felt like I was going to be stuck in high school forever and I was never going to achieve my dreams.

With 'Stranger Things' especially, I couldn't expect the show to become what it was, and I definitely didn't expect the whole Barb thing to become what it was.

I love to sing.

I've been singing since I was a little kid, but 'Sierra' was my first time singing on camera, which was definitely intimidating at first.

Technology is a double-edged sword for sure. You can use it to get in touch with somebody, to get to know somebody, to have really meaningful conversations, or you can use it to hurt and bully people.

Specifically, my time in therapy has changed my life. It was such a relief to have a trained professional listen to my thoughts and help me positively restructure my thinking.

I was diagnosed with OCD and depression, and that was a huge relief, because now my struggles had a name and could be reckoned with. With a combination of therapy and medication, I got better. I learned to love life again. My problems didn't go away, but they became much easier to face.

At some point, I stumbled across an article about OCD. As I read, I was blown away by how identical the writer's description was to what I was experiencing. It was overwhelmingly comforting to finally realize that I wasn't alone and that nothing was wrong with me. It was a treatable disorder.

When I was a little kid, I used to get in trouble a lot for lying. Being raised religious, I believed that lying was sinful, so I felt guilty.

I don't know why, but I'm more intimidated by sharing my singing than just performing as an actress.

I do think technology really has changed the way that we communicate with each other and texting can be the way to communicate and to kind of get up the nerve to say things that maybe you wouldn't say in real life, but that also comes with a price.

Such a big part of acting is getting your face out there and getting recognized.

Everybody has had that experience where your friend drags you to a party because the person they're crushing on is there, and you don't really want to be there but you go there with them anyway.