Celebrities' shocking confessions about panic attacks that will blow your mind

You won’t believe panic attacks are often experienced by Hollywood’s celebrities and these famous faces are bravely speaking out about their struggles.

Celebrities like Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Jennifer Lopez and Stephen Colbert have openly shared their experiences with panic attacks.

So, in this article, let’s explore the shocking confessions of 10 famous faces who have opened about their attacks and the unseen struggles behind the spotlight:

1. Pedro Pascal

The The Fantastic Four: First Steps actor has spoken openly about his struggles with anxiety and panic attacks and how he manages it, specifically with physical contact.

Pascal once mentioned that during stressful moments, he uses techniques like touching his arm or his stomach, making eye contact, and holding the hand of a trusted person to ground himself and find a sense of calm.

For example, the Materialists star held his The Fantastic Four: First Steps co-star Vanessa Kirby's hand at a Hall H panel to manage anxiety, which highlights his vulnerability and need for connection.

2. Selena Gomez

Gomez, who is soon set to marry her fiancé Benny Blanco, has been open about how the social media spotlight has impacted her mental health, however, it didn’t stop there.

"Tours are a really lonely place for me," the Calm Down singer told Vogue in 2017, adding, "My self-esteem was shot. I was depressed, anxious. I started to have panic attacks right before getting onstage, or right after leaving the stage."

3. Emma Stone

In an interview with Jennifer Lawrence for Elle, the La La Land actress revealed that she started dealing with anxiety at seven years old, saying, “That’s when I started having panic attacks, which I’ve talked about pretty extensively.”

The Poor Things performer went on to say, “I think your wiring is just kind of what you are. My mom always says that I was born with my nerves outside of my body.”

According to Stone, while opening about it was scary for her, she says it has been “very healing” along with therapy and medication.

The 36-year-old actress emphasised that her anxiety “is something that is part” of her but it’s not who she is.

4. Ariana Grande

Grande admits things have never been the same for her since the 2017 incident where a suicide bomber attacked the Manchester Arena in England where she was performing.

The Wicked star told Elle, "When I got home from tour, I had really wild dizzy spells, this feeling like I couldn’t breathe."

"I would be in a good mood, fine and happy, and they would hit me out of nowhere. I’ve always had anxiety, but it had never been physical before," the 7 Rings hitmaker shared. adding, “There were a couple of months straight where I felt so upside down.” 

5. Chris Evans

Did you know Evans' decision to suit up as Captain America did not come easy for the actor as he suffering "mini panic attacks" before accepting the super-hero role.

The 44-year-old actor appeared on The Hollywood Reporter's podcast, Awards Chatter, where he shared, "It was the first time I started having mini panic attacks on set."

Evans recalled, "I really started to think, 'I'm not sure if this [acting] is the right thing for me, I'm not sure if I'm feeling as healthy as I should be feeling.'"

6. Jennifer Lopez

J.Lo admits that her life has been far from perfect as the moment she realised her seven-year marriage to Marc Anthony would end in divorce, she had a panic attack during a photo shoot, prompting her to end the relationship.

The On The Floor songstress revealed in her memoir True Love, “As I sat there getting made up, my heart was beating out of my chest and I felt like I couldn’t breathe... I became consumed with anxiety.”

7. Hugh Grant

You won’t believe Grant’s own biggest critic, has led to “out-of-the-blue panic attacks.”

The Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy actor revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying, “It’ll be in a very easy, simple scene when everything is going swimmingly, and then suddenly, bang, I’m shvitzing and can’t remember my lines. At one stage I was asking directors not to say ‘action’ because I found that the word sent me into paroxysms of terror.”

According to Grant, the struggle made him quit acting for nearly five years, but he returned to a lead role in Florence Foster Jenkins in 2016, thanks to a “brilliant script” and the support of Meryl Streep.

8. Kendall Jenner

Jenner has experienced panic attacks in the middle of the night due to her anxiety, which has been triggered by many things; social media negativity, constant travel for work, and traumatic moments.

"I once had a really bad [anxiety] attack on a plane and just had to ride it out," Jenner wrote on her website, per SELF, adding, "I felt my heart beating a million miles an hour, and I even went a little numb.”

According to the reality star, she copes through various breathing techniques.

9. Ellie Goulding

When her panic attacks started, the Love Me Like You Do singer would cover her face with a pillow to avoid being seen in public.

"I think part of what sparked my panic attacks was not feeling confident enough to believe in myself -- I was scared I wasn’t as good of a singer as everyone thought I was," Goulding wrote in a personal essay, adding, "And as the stakes grew, I was afraid of letting everyone, including myself, down."

10. Stephen Colbert

The host of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert started having panic attacks in his late 20s.

According to Colbert, he eventually realised that, for him, performing was the key to controlling his anxiety.

The host once told Rolling Stone, "Creating something is what helped me from just spinning apart like an unweighted flywheel. And I haven’t stopped since."