Lena Dunham will not be making press appearances to promote the upcoming season of “Girls” because of an endometriosis flare-up, she announced Monday on Facebook.
“I am currently going through a rough patch with the illness and my body (along with my amazing doctors) let me know, in no uncertain terms, that it’s time to rest,” she said. “That’s a hard thing to do, but I’m trying, because all I want is to make season 6 of “Girls” the best one yet.”
Dunham said she’s lucky to have support from the “Girls” team, adding that “so many women with this disease literally don’t have the option of time off.”
This is not the first time that Dunham has opened up about her struggle with the chronic condition. She detailed her experience in a November 2015 Lenny Letter post, writing, “I know I’m lucky in the grand health scheme, but I also know that I am one of many women who grasp for a sense of consistent well-being, fight against the betrayals of their bodies, and who are often met with skepticism by doctors trained to view painful periods as the lot of women who should learn to grin and bear it.”
At least 6.3 million females in the United States suffer from endometriosis, which is when endometrial tissue grows outside of the uterus, according to the Endometriosis Association. It can cause pain, adhesions and infertility.
