'Girls' Zosia Mamet Isn't Afraid To Be Honest

If there's one thing that Zosia Mamet and her Girls character, Shoshanna, have in common, it's honesty. When it comes to sharing the details of her personal life, the actor, just like her famous role, doesn't hold back; she's written for Glamour and spoken in interviews about everything from her dating life to eating disorders. Now, she's partnering with Secret for their new “Stress Tested for Women” campaign, all about what it's like to manage stress and expectations as a powerful woman — so it's safe to say that when it comes to opening up, Mamet has pretty much zero qualms.

"I always forget that what I’m sharing of myself is something anyone has access to," the actor says, speaking to Bustle at the Bryant Part Hotel. "And I think that’s the thing that makes me feel capable of doing it, especially when I’m working."

Mamet explains that being honest about the challenges she faces is something she's always felt passionate about — but that doesn't mean she's never gotten nervous about sharing the most intimate details of her life with the public.

"No matter what, that’s gonna be scary, but I also think that that’s what makes you feel alive," she says, adding, "You can’t think about everyone who’s watching, you have to pretend they’re not there."

But, she adds, writing and speaking about her own struggles is totally worth the nerves that come along. Says Mamet of her personal writing, "I just wrote from the heart and hoped that one person would read it and it would help them find some sort of solace or understanding and help shed light on an issue."

Taking on so many opportunities to write and speak about her life doesn't come without a cost, though. Mamet is as busy as it gets, balancing her role on Girls, parts in several movies, a cameo on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, work with charities, and her campaign with Secret — and that's just the first half of 2016. True to her honest nature, Mamet is the first to admit that having so many projects inevitably brings some strain.

"I think stress exists a lot for me," says Mamet. "My pace moves so quickly, being spread between all these things."

To deal with the chaos, Mamet turns to yoga — or, when that's not possible, just telling herself to keep things in perspective. One thing she doesn't do? Force herself to calm down.

"I had a friend of mine once say, 'you can’t tell yourself relax, because you’re just going to be stressed about the fact that you’re not relaxing,'" Mamet explains. "So you got to just make up another word or focus on something else. That really stuck with me, as thinking about forcing myself not to be stressed inevitably just stressed me out."

It's solid advice, and if anyone knows how best to balance a hectic schedule, it's Mamet, whose work on and off-screen seems to keep getting busier and better with each passing year.

Image: Secret; HBO