In a new interview with Vogue<\/a>, published on Thursday, Oct. 22, the Klara and the Sun<\/a> star discussed the OCD symptoms that have impacted her since she was 7 years old.<\/p>\n Ortega, 24, vividly remembers growing up with \u201ca lot of different trains rolling in my brain at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n She recalled waking up before her siblings to complete a specific routine each day before school.<\/p>\n Jenna Ortega attends the 32nd Annual Actor Awards at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on March 01, 2026Credit: Amy Sussman\/Getty<\/p>\n \u201cI had to open the bedsheet a certain way, and open the drawer one way, and brush my hair in a slow-paced way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Mayo Clinic<\/a> describes OCD as \u201ca pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears known as obsessions,\u201d acc<\/p>\n OCD includes \u201cpattern[s] of unwanted thoughts and fears known as obsessions,\u201d which could lead a person to do \u201crepetitive behaviors,\u201d known as compulsions, according to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>. The obsessions lead to repetitive behaviors that can cause distress as they get in the way of daily activities.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, you feel driven to do compulsive acts to ease your stress, \u201c the medical center states. \u201cEven if you try to ignore or get rid of bothersome thoughts or urges, they keep coming back. This leads you to act based on ritual. This is the vicious cycle of OCD.\u201d<\/p>\n The obsessions continue to impact Ortega to this day, she told Vogue, adding that the repetitive behavior tends to show up when she\u2019s anxious, tired, or jet-lagged.<\/p>\n \u201cI just bite the bullet and do the routine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Jenna Ortega attends Lionsgate\u2019s \u201cHurry Up Tomorrow\u201d World Premiere on May 13, 2025 in New York CityCredit: Michael Loccisano\/WireImage<\/p>\n Nowadays, this includes repeating \u201ctake care\u201d a specific number of times throughout the day, she told the magazine. It also includes stepping onto set with her left foot first and holding her breath while counting to 71.<\/p>\n While Ortega sometimes works with a therapist and has tried medications, something that has helped her \u201ctake some of the pressure off\u201d is picturing OCD as a game.<\/p>\n Her work has also offered some relief. She said that when the cameras are rolling, \u201cYou have to breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE\u2019s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s another reason why I like my job,\u201d she told Vogue.<\/p>\n This was not the first time Ortega discussed her OCD symptoms with Vogue. In an August 2025 conversation<\/a> with the magazine, she said she has \u201cpretty intense\u201d OCD and had the \u201cexact same routine\u201d for seven years.<\/p>\n \u201cI count to a certain number in the shower. I put my clothes on in a certain order,\u201d Ortega said in 2025. \u201cIf I\u2019m having a bad day and I don\u2019t know why, it\u2019s because I put the wrong sock on the wrong foot. I\u2019m very aware of stuff like that. And while it may come across as silly, and I can acknowledge that, it also brings me some sort of comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n The new interview comes ahead of the release of Klara and the Sun, in which Ortega plays an artificial best friend. It is based on Kazuo Ishiguro\u2019s 2021 novel of the same name and directed by Taika Waititi<\/a>.<\/p>\n Klara and the Sun arrives in theaters on Oct. 23.<\/p>\n![\"Jenna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/550cc48d-bcd6-4cc2-a531-a92934edd3f6.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Jenna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f01e87ec-6cf0-48d1-a560-7af228f30f23.jpg\"\/)
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