Chad Michael Murray Battled Agoraphobia Amid One Tree Hill Fame

While Chad Michael Murray was reaching a milestone in his career, he was privately struggling with his mental health.

In fact, it was during the peak of his fame as One Tree Hill‘s Lucas Scott that the actor began battling agoraphobia, a type of anxiety where a person fears certain places or situations that may cause stress.

“I was around 23 and I had an event in Miami,” he told The Cut in an interview published May 21, “but I couldn’t leave my hotel room.”

“The world felt like it was closing in,” Chad continued. “I was having anxiety attacks.”

Two years later, on his 25th birthday, the A Cinderella Story star decided to make a change.

“I woke up and felt unsettled,” he explained. “I didn’t like the direction that I was going in my life.”

“I went to church,” Chad, who also turned to therapy, added, “and I got a tattoo of a cross on my left wrist, and I was like, I’m going to move myself in faith.”