Stylist: How has your life changed in the past 10 years?

Lena Dunham: The pace is definitely different. I have a home now that I am building with someone that I want to return to, which I didn’t have in my 20s. But I have to say to anyone who is feeling anxiety about going from their 20s to their 30s: I have loved my 30s, even when they have had moments of complexity. I have fucking loved them and I am even more excited about my 40s. I think there is nothing more divine than ageing as a woman.

S: Are there any particular mantras that you live by now?

LD: Great question. I’ve never admitted this to anyone except my husband, but before I go into a big meeting or a day of shooting or a conversation that’s going to be hard, I say a little prayer that I wrote for myself. I don’t know where it came from. I say to myself: “Let me be open. Let me be loving. Let me receive and respond. Let me give to others while protecting myself.” I say it every single time as if it comes from a religious leader, even though it just popped into my head one day. I can’t say that it’s the right one for everyone, but I highly recommend coming up with your own personalised prayer and then saying it before you go somewhere that might cause you anxiety. Because it grounds me, it offers me peace and it reminds me of who I want to be in the world.

Lena Dunham on new film Treasure and her big life lessons of the last decade