Over the years, Peter Andre has often spoken about mental health issues that make him relatable to a lot of people. In 2018, the Mysterious Girl singer - who recently welcomed a new baby daughter - spoke to Heat magazine as a part of their mental health campaign. He revealed that getting professional help is the right way to get about it.
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Andre has often shared how at the peak of his career in 1998, the star suffered from crippling anxiety and found it difficult to deal with it.
Peter Andre opens up about what a panic attack feels like
In a new Instagram video last week, Andre partnered with the free mental health search engine JAAQ and shared his personal story of what panic attacks felt like for him. The singer explained that panic attacks felt like he was ‘going to die.’
Speaking straight to the camera, the star shared:
You literally think you're going to die. A panic attack, the way I describe it was thinking I'm going to die.
Your heart's beating fast and your palms get kind of sweaty and you get this brain fog. You don't know what's going to happen and you think you can't get out of this.
The 51-year-old also said that panic attacks can feel like ‘no one will understand’ and you may think that ‘everyone around you’ will think ‘you’re crazy.’ He added:
This is a very normal way to feel. What I will tell you is that you're not crazy and nothing is actually going to happen to you. That's the hardest thing to believe at this point.
According to Entertainment Daily, the NHS describes panic disorder as ‘an anxiety disorder’ where you have sudden attacks of ‘panic or fear.’
Peter Andre was once hospitalised because of his panic attacks
In 2019, the father-of-four told Irish chat show host Ray D'Arcy that he was hospitalised and on medication because of his anxiety for years. He said:
I ended up in all sorts of hospitals, on medication and with different therapists.
Peter went on to explain that many people look at anxiety like it’s a ‘weakness’ or ‘taboo'. Detailing his own experience with the disease and recalling the year 1998, he said:
I was at the top of everything and all of a sudden it just hit me like a tonne of bricks. I couldn't function. I couldn't think straight. I was having panic attacks.
However difficult, the ordeal turned out to be ‘the best thing’ that ever happened to him as he started looking at the brighter side of things and life. Peter found that medication helped him a lot in dealing with his anxiety but they could do nothing if he actually wouldn’t have put in the work in therapy, according to The Sun.
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Sources Used
Entertainment Daily: Peter Andre on horrific battle with panic attacks: ‘I thought I was going to die’
The Sun: ‘I thought I was going to die,’ says Peter Andre as he details horrific battle with panic attacks
The Sun: Peter Andre says he was hospitalised with panic attacks and secretly battled anxiety for TEN years