Emma Stone opens up about struggles with anxiety, panic attacks

Actor discloses details of her battles, helps raise awareness for children’s mental health

Hollywood star Emma Stone recently shared her experience with anxiety and panic attacks. The actor was in conversation with the president of the Child Mind Institute, Dr Harold Koplewicz, as she disclosed details of her battles, to raise awareness for the mental health of children today. Stone revealed acting saved her life, reported Cosmopolitan.

Stating that she had her first panic attack in the second grade, she said, "It was really, really terrifying and overwhelming. I was at a friend's house and all of a sudden I was convinced the house was on fire and it was burning down. I was just sitting in her bedroom and obviously the house wasn't on fire but there was nothing in me that didn't think we were going to die."

La La Land actor Emma Stone was a vision in a Valentino gown at Golden Globes. PHOTO: DAILY MAIL

Stone continued, “And so I called my mum and it was panic, but I of course didn’t know that. She came and picked me up and it just kept going on for the next two years.” Stone went to the nurse at school every day during second grade and she would tell her that she was sick and needed to go home.

The La La Land star shared that her condition made her not want to go to school or to her friends’ houses. However, once her family noticed a pattern, Stone started going to therapy, which she called "embarrassing or shameful" because it wasn't normal to talk about mental health or therapy at the time.

PHOTO: PEOPLE

While she was in therapy, she didn't actually know she had a disorder because her mother didn't tell her.

She explained, "She didn't tell me, which I'm also grateful for. I didn't know I had generalised anxiety disorder or a version of panic disorder. I'm very grateful I didn't know that I had a disorder so to speak...There weren't a lot of people that I could look at. I wanted to be an actor and there weren't a lot of actors that spoke about having panic attacks."

The Aloha actor continues to cope with her anxiety and panic attacks. She holds acting as a big part of how she works toward her goals. "If I hadn’t gone to LA, I would have died," said Stone.

La La Land actor Emma Stone at BAFTA 2017. PHOTO: JUST JARED

She believes her struggles have also helped her become a better actor as she is able to relate to different characters. "There is a tendency to want to understand how people around you work or what's going on internally with them which is great for characters.”

Nonetheless, the Maniac star shared that acting isn't the only thing that can help other people overcome their own struggles. "You just have to find that thing within you that you are drawn to,” Stone concluded.

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