Lina Larissa Strahl: This topic is a matter close to my heart

At the age of 15, Lina Larissa Strahl (26) made her big breakthrough as Bibi Blocksberg. By 2017, she had played the popular witch four times in the “Bibi & Tina” film adaptations. When she took part in the RTL show “Let’s Dance” this year, the 26-year-old showed a completely new side of herself and spoke openly about her anxiety disorders and panic attacks. The topic of mental health is also the focus of her podcast “Fühl ich”.

She is a great role model for many young people, with around 850,000 fans following her on Instagram alone. A reach that Strahl also wants to use for important issues. She is currently supporting a study by Aktion Mensch. The “Youth Inclusion Barometer” examines the social participation of young people with and without disabilities between the ages of 14 and 27 – the so-called Generation Z. For the actress, it is a matter close to her heart to campaign for equal rights and against discrimination, as she explains in the interview.

Why is it so important to you to draw attention to Aktion Mensch’s “Youth Inclusion Barometer”?

Lina Larissa Strahl: I am 26 years old and therefore of a similar age. The reality of life and the challenges and difficulties that were surveyed as part of the Aktion Mensch study affect me directly. And campaigning for equal rights and against discrimination has long been a matter close to my heart.

According to the study, more than six out of ten young people have already experienced discrimination – especially young people with disabilities. Have you ever experienced something like this?

Strahl: My experiences with discrimination relate to experiences in which I was treated unfairly, criticized or disadvantaged because of my gender. I find it very worrying that young people with disabilities are particularly affected by discrimination and it should be a concern of all of us to support Generation Z so that inclusion is an integral part of our society.

You once explained that you “often felt like a strange outsider as a teenager.” Why was that?

Strahl: I think that even as a child and teenager I was very preoccupied with my thoughts. This made me seem a bit absent in certain situations, especially as I actually had difficulty focusing. Sometimes I had the feeling that I didn’t quite fit into the world of the others. I noticed that I perceived some everyday situations very differently than my friends – more intensely, sometimes more threatening.

When you took part in “Let’s Dance” this year, you spoke openly about your anxiety disorders. How difficult was this step for you and how is your health today?

Strahl: Thanks to good preparation and many discussions beforehand, I felt well positioned to go public with such a topic. Especially with regard to my podcast “Fühl ich”, it was important to me to be as honest as possible and to be able to give listeners or people watching TV an insight into my own mental health journey. I think I have recently created an environment in which my work is fulfilling again and with which I can tackle various goals and wishes both professionally and privately. That is very good for me. Having good friends by your side helps you to grow and take on new challenges.

What advice can you give to young people who are struggling with problems such as anxiety or loneliness or who feel excluded?

Strahl: I think it’s really important to get help if you feel like you can’t get any further on your own. Support from outside can be a huge help and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I notice time and again how liberating it is to be able to talk about the things that concern you and to share your worries. Talking to friends, family or psychologists opens up new perspectives and it may be easier to escape your spiral of thoughts. I also think it’s important to talk about exclusion and get support from others. And also that there are projects like the current Aktion Mensch study, so that people talk about it and problems are highlighted, and people feel accepted and less alone.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Gen Z?

Strahl: Gen Z definitely has a few major challenges to overcome. Many young people feel left behind and lack the opportunity to realize their dreams for the future. I am often scared when I see where many of my peers get their information from, for example when it comes to global political or social issues. We are very focused on social media and sometimes forget that there is a world outside of Instagram and TikTok. I think that we should wake ourselves up here and there and focus more on reality with our social commitment. It is so easy to quickly share a few slides and pictures online that express compassion for others or supposed support. In my opinion, it would be so important to have real discussions and conversations. To listen to the people you meet and to try together to create a present in which there is solidarity and respect. We need to talk about exclusion and it must not be a taboo.

What social support does Gen Z need to cope well with these challenges?

Strahl: I believe that in many respects the structural conditions have to be right for change to happen. This applies to politics, our society and everything that goes with it. However, as a young generation, we also have to make our own decisions and the future is largely in our hands. I think it is also important that the different generations communicate with each other, that we share our experiences and thus our learnings. The internet and the enormous social interaction that we have achieved with it could also contribute to so many positive things. I think it could be a real opportunity to use these advantages and thereby initiate a development that enriches our society in the long term.

With the #VielVor campaign, Aktion Mensch is committed to an inclusive world in which everyone who has big plans can also achieve a lot. What do you think each individual can do to advance this vision?

Strahl: Creating an inclusive and equal world should be a concern for our society and therefore also for all of us as individuals. We always think that as individuals we cannot achieve so much, but I believe that we can always start with ourselves. What can I do to create an inclusive world, what can I enable, how can I support and educate myself? Where do I still have gaps in my knowledge and where can I educate and share my own knowledge and thoughts to encourage progress?

Many young people look up to you. What role models do you try to pass on to young people?

Strahl: We are all unique in our own way, and we cannot be a carbon copy of someone else who is supposedly more perfect – and that’s a good thing. I went through a phase over the past few years where I was very self-limiting and constantly criticizing myself because I thought I wasn’t living up to my own or other people’s expectations. Letting go a little at that point and talking to my friends about these thoughts helped a lot.

Was there a time in your life when a role model helped you? How did that person inspire you?

Strahl: When I was younger, I definitely had classic role models from the film and music world. I always picked out people (mostly women) who I saw as some kind of idol and who I thought “I’d like to be like Jennifer Lawrence or Miley Cyrus”. Both of them are strong women who don’t let anyone tell them what to do, which I still find very impressive. At the moment, I look for inspiration in people who are close to me. I find my friends remarkable and I’m very happy to have several role models who are close to me.

Is there a project or dream that you really want to realize?

Strahl: I have long had the dream of owning something like a sanctuary so that I can give animals a chance that they wouldn’t otherwise get. Animals are wonderful creatures and they enrich our world a lot. I think it’s a shame how they are treated in many ways and how the situation for animals in the meat and dairy industries, for example, remains unbearable.