Emilia Clarke claims near death experiences helped her manage COVID-19

Emilia Clarke recently spilled the beans on her past struggles with brain injury and how all of that helped her deal with the mental turmoil brought on by the raging pandemic.

During her most recent interview with Raisa Bruner for the Time 100 Talks, the Game of Thrones star opened up about two traumatic and terrifying brain injuries she sustained back in the day and how that ‘mental armor’ helped her to fight off COVID-19.

"When you personally come very close to dying — which I did twice — it brings into light a conversation that you have with yourself, [which] goes to the tune of appreciation for what you do have, thanks for the people who are here.”

Apart from brain injuries she sustained back in 2011 and 2013, Clarke also struggled with the death of her dad only three years later in 2016.

At the time she had an interview with Time where she revealed, "Losing my dad actually was probably the most profound thing that has ever happened to me.”

And understanding that, and wrapping your head around it, has counter-intuitively opened my mind in so many ways. When you truly understand and feel grief, which is what we're all experiencing right now in a global pandemic [...] understanding that grief just inherently makes you empathetic to others."

During the course of her interview, the actress also touched upon how she came to a new epiphany during her time in quarantine, and also realized how little she truly needed in order to be satisfied.

"Really what you need is to strip it back, and to be introspective and reflective where possible. That's the thing that's going to last you for the rest of your life, because that's you. That's the 'you' you're living with until the day you die. And if you can, on any level, rely or trust that, then you're strong. You are strong."