Flash Star Gustin gets Candid on His Struggles with Anxiety & Imposter Syndrome
Recently, Grant Gustin, aka The Flash, appeared on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast. In this interview, the CW actor opened up about his mental health issues. Gustin candidly shared his struggles with anxiety and Impostor syndrome since childhood. He also revealed how his family helps him deal with it.
Grant Gustin Talks About His Anxiety And Impostor Syndrome
On this Tuesday, Michael Rosenbaum, aka Lex Luthor of Smallville, shared a mic with Grant Gustin on his podcast. Though Gustin has always loved theatre and acting, he revealed he still gets “audition anxiety.”
He told Michael that initially, he “didn’t want to go to the [Flash] audition at all because [he] thought it was so irrational to think that [he] could book it.” He also said that his major “audition anxiety,” stifled his desire to try for the role of Barry Allen (The Flash).
But even after landing the role, he still battled with Impostor syndrome. (Indeed, Impostor syndrome refers to a psychological feeling of doubting your accomplishments. It includes worrying about being exposed as a fraud.) He added that even after working on the show for the past six seasons, he still undergoes “imposter syndrome all the time.”
He also talked about how he often feels “very insecure.” Gustin explained he put “way too much pressure on [himself]” during his initial The Flash days. And he had to remind himself to ease up a little continually.
How Gustin’s Family Helped Him
Deeper into the interview, Gustin shared the history of his struggles with anxiety and Impostor syndrome. Anxiety has ailed him since his childhood. He opened up: “Since really young, and I mean since probably four or five, I’ve dealt with anxiety and depression. I had really weird anxious-type dreams as a really young kid.”
In 2018, the 30-year-old act got married Andrea “LA” Thoma, who is a physical therapist. He revealed how they, as a couple took therapy before their wedding. He said: “I don’t want to get to into it, but before we got married, we started doing couple’s therapy just to be ready for marriage. …and all kinds of things for both of us came to the surface. I knew I had always dealt with anxiety but getting pin-pointed ideas of where things started and why you’re feeling that way. Anxiety is ever-present in my life, for sure.”
Later, he revealed how his mum was the first to identify his Impostor syndrome. He admitted how he always feels unworthy of his achievements. The CW actor said: “I don’t think I ever deserve anything that I get, or that I’m not worthy or I didn’t work hard enough for it, or someone else worked harder or was more talented. That’s something I struggle with all the time, just being okay with where I’m at and feel like I deserved it or earned it. That’s one thing that really makes me feel lucky all the time. I don’t know how I got to where I’m at, like almost ever.”
Grant Gustin: A Mental Health Advocate
Gustin, who even now struggles with anxiety and Impostor syndrome, is a loud and proud mental health advocate. Hence, he has extended his support to Arrowverse alum Chris Wood’s IDONTMIND, a mental health awareness campaign. This campaign aims to “defeat the stigma around mental illness.” And to inform his fans about the campaign, Gustin said: “Different forms of mental illness have affected me personally over the course of my life. I think most of us can say that.”
All we can say is that Grant Gustin is a real-life superhero too!
