Maria Menounos Reveals 'Toxicity' And 'Bullying' Played A Role In Causing Her Brain Tumor

Maria Menounos is speaking out about the brutal nature of the entertainment industry, and she’s getting real about her brain tumor and the recovery process from that life-changing surgery over the summer.
The TV host spoked with Access Hollywood this week and shared some thoughts about the chronic stress she was under while on camera as much as she’d been the last several years.
Related: Why Maria Waited To Tell Her Parents About Brain Tumor
Looking back at the chain of events that led up to her brain tumor diagnosis and eventual surgery, Menounos pointed the finger partially at chronic stress in her life as a result of juggling so many work responsibilities (below):

“I think chronic stress on the body is really bad. I think that for anyone who’s dealing with chronic stress, you have to figure out a way, with meditation, with anything that you’re doing, to incorporate ways to destress and let your body have a minute to catch up and to breathe. I mean, as women you know, we put ourselves last and we put our health last. I postponed that MRI for months because I thought I was crazy. I thought I was being paranoid. I was putting my mom’s health first, which I mean, it’s understandable. It was critical. But we have to focus more on ourselves.”

And interestingly, she doesn’t stop there.
When asked about where the stress was coming from, Menounous points directly at the entertainment industry grind itself with some pretty powerful words about the reality behind finding success in Hollywood (below):

“I think [the stress came from] the industry. I think there was a lot of bullying, a lot of toxicity. I think it’s just a rough journey. There’s the glitz and the glam that everybody sees – I feel incredibly blessed to be part of it – but there have been some tough times, and I’m sure you guys have not been immune to those tough times. I think that we’re kind of like as women, we’re so tough, it’s like, ‘Suck it up. Keep moving forward. Take the kick to the gut, move forward, work hard and you’ll be fine.'”

Wow.
Powerful stuff from a woman who is obviously very grateful to be alive and healthy again.
You can watch the full interview on video (below):

Thoughts, Perezcious readers?!
Pretty serious and scary stuff!!
[Image via Ivan Nikolov/WENN.]