Sandra Oh Explains How Therapy Helped Her Cope With Traumatic Rise To Fame On 'Grey's Anatomy'

Just like her character in the hit American series 'Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh doesn't believe in sugarcoating realities of life. The actress who played Christina Yang on Shonda Rhimes' show recently opened up on dealing with her mental health while shooting for 'Grey's Anatomy.'

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The show catapulted her to fame and glory, but as a person, she took a mindful and conscious decision of 'staying true to her core.

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Oh played Dr. Cristina Yang for the first 10 seasons of Grey's before announcing her departure in 2013. The performance earned her her first Golden Globe and five Emmy nominations.

She spoke about how she handled the instant success from her time on the hit medical drama.

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According to People magazine, over the weekend, while appearing on 'Sunday Today with Willie Geist,' the 50-year-old actor opened up about her "traumatic" experience becoming a household name after the success of the ABC medical drama.

Despite the success of the ABC series, which launched her to critical acclaim, the actor told Geist the sudden fame was definitely an adjustment.

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Oh said, "To be perfectly honest, it was traumatic. The reason why I'm saying that is the circumstances you need to do your work is with a lot of privacy."

She continued, "So when one loses one's anonymity, you have to build skills to try still and be real. I went from not being able to go out, like hiding in restaurants, to then being able to manage attention, manage expectation, while not losing the sense of self."

The actor then shared that she could cope with the fame and new lifestyle because she had a good therapist.

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"I'm not joking. It's very, very important. You have to work at finding your way to stay grounded. And a lot of times, that's by saying no," she said about dealing with her mental health.

To jog your memory a little, Sandra left 'Grey's Anatomy' seven years ago. Fans have been hoping she might make a return to the series one day as season 17 of the medical drama welcomed back several former stars.

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Among those that returned were Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd, T.R. Knight as George O'Malley, Chyler Leigh as Lexie Grey, Eric Dane as Mark Sloan, and Sarah Drew as April Kepner.

While many wanted to see her back in a scene with Meredith (played by Ellen Pompeo) however, in May, Oh shut down the possibility of reprising her role as Cristina Yang.

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In a Los Angeles Times' podcast Asian Enough, she again clarified that she has "moved on."

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"It's very rare, and I would say, to be able to see in such a way the impact of a character. In some ways, you do your work as a bubble, and you let it go. I left that show, my God, seven years ago almost. So in my mind, it's gone. But for a lot of people, it's still very much alive. And while I understand and I love it, I have moved on," she said at the time.

Oh added, "I love it, though, and this is also why I really appreciate the show ... that I still get asked this."

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Since her exit, Oh has moved on with other projects, including the hit series 'Killing Eve,' which will return for a fourth and final season next year, and Netflix's latest series 'The Chair .'

She encouraged fans to follow along as she advocates for more representation of the Asian American community.

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As per People magazine, she said, "Please come with me to Killing Eve and on to The Chair and on to the other projects. Come see the characters that I'm playing that are much more deeply integrated into the Asian American experience."

(With ANI inputs)

(Also read: Handbook On Love & Self-Acceptance: 15 Lines From 'Grey¡¯s Anatomy' That Still Remain Relevant)