Perrie Edwards suffers from anxiety
Little Mix star Perrie Edwards is using her social media platform to encourage fans with anxiety to open up.
Perrie shares that she has suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for years.
She wants anyone in the same position to know they're not alone.
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Edwards shared a picture of herself on Instagram alongside a lengthy paragraph about her anxiety.
'I’d like to open up about something. Venting your feelings is healthy and I want to be honest with you all.'
'Over the past few years I have suffered really badly with anxiety and panic attacks.'
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Perrie was terrified
'When I first started to feel the effects of anxiety I thought I was losing my mind and it terrified me.'
'I felt so alone and like I was the first person in the world to ever experience it.'
'The first panic attack was so intense and overwhelming I felt like I was having a heart attack...'
'I was so scared and confused and had no idea what was happening to me.'
'I’m not sure what triggered that first one but it soon spiralled & I found myself in a really dark place, feeling alone and scared.'
'I had people around me but I couldn’t explain to them what was happening to me or why.'
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She wouldn't leave the house
'It affected me so badly that I didn’t even want to leave the house.'
'I would step foot out the door and feel the overwhelming need to go straight back inside. It completely took over my life.'
'I’m happy to say that the physical attacks have stopped but unfortunately the anxiety still lives on.'
'The reality is it probably always will.'
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Perrie admits she sometimes feels, 'like a prisoner in [her] own head.'
'It feels like the most unnatural thing in the world but the thing that helped me the most was discovering I’m not alone.'
'I’m not the only person going through this.'
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Perrie got better
She encourages her fans, 'there are people all over the world feeling the exact same way I do!'
'As soon as I realised I wasn’t going insane I felt more eager to beat it.'
'I had therapy and I surround myself with my loved ones.'
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'Talking to someone relieves you of SO MUCH STRESS.'
'I worked out coping mechanism’s and learned what the triggers are so that I can fight the attacks before they take hold.'
'I restricted my time on social media which often made me feel trapped and claustrophobic.'
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'I took control of my life and accepted what I couldn’t control.'
She says, 'I don’t want to hide it anymore.' I suffer from anxiety and I want you to all know if you suffer from anxiety you’re not alone.'
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Her close friends and band mates have been showing their support in the comments section.
