In the U.S. anxiety affects 40 million adults, making it the country’s most common mental illness. In Australia, anxiety disorders affect over 2 million adults in any one year, with one in four people experiencing anxiety at some point in their lifetime.
Celebrities who are in the public eye are no exception when it comes to anxiety. Some experienced it during childhood, others had a one off panic attack and several deal with anxiety on a daily basis. They all have a story to tell and openly admit dealing with anxiety is never easy.
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Here are 10 famous people you’ll never believe have anxiety:
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp is at the top of his acting game staring in countless films and television shows, yet he grapples with anxiety on a regular basis. While it doesn’t shine through on screen, during interviews Deep admits he gets remarkably uncomfortable and even starts to panic. Deep has therapists on hand at all times, including whilst filming, to help him control his anxiety and change his mind set in order to get through the day.
Kate Moss
She’s been named one of the world’s most beautiful people, but that hasn’t made Kate Moss immune to anxiety. “I had a nervous breakdown when I was 17 or 18, when I had to go and work with Marky Mark and Herb Ritts”, Moss says. “It didn’t feel like me at all. I felt really bad about straddling this buff guy. I didn’t like it. I couldn’t get out of bed for two weeks. I thought I was going to die.”
Emma Stone
She’s worked alongside some of the most successful movie stars, is the face of the beauty brand Revlon, and is regularly gracing the covers of magazines. Emma Stone has also suffered from anxiety since she was just 8 years old, when she experienced her first of many panic attacks.
“The first time I had a panic attack I was sitting in my friend’s house, and I thought the house was burning down. I called my mom and she brought me home, and for the next three years it just would not stop,” says Stone.
“I would ask my mom to tell me exactly how the day was going to be, then ask again 30 seconds later. I just needed to know that no one was going to die and nothing was going to change.”
Adele
Adele has a voice like no other, with several top selling albums to prove it. Despite her success, she has admitted to suffering from panic attacks, social phobia and severe stage fright. “I have anxiety attacks, constant panicking on stage, my heart feels like it’s going to explode because I never feel like I’m going to deliver, ever”, says Adele.
Describing how she feels when she gets nervous, Adele says “I get fidgety, I moan, I complain, I try to escape, I try to get out”.
LeAnn Rimes
The public learned of country singer, LeAnn Rimes, struggle with her anxiety disorder when she checked into a rehab facility in 2012. The star told her fans on her website it was time for her to “emotionally check out for a second” as she learned how to establish copy mechanisms for her stress anxiety.
David Beckham
Soccer star David Beckham has admitted he suffers from the common mental health condition, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The condition can make him highly anxious if he doesn’t have “everything perfect.”
Dakato Johnson
She’s the Fifty Shades of Grey actress who revealed almost everything on the movie screen. Dakato Johnson has also revealed she suffers from severe panic attacks. “Sometimes I panic to the point where I don’t know what I’m thinking or doing. I have a full anxiety attack”, says 25-year-old.
“I have them all the time anyway, but with auditioning it’s bad. I’m so terrified of it.
John Mayer
John Mayer’s poetic lyrics may give an insight into his own personal struggles. Mayer has admitted to experiencing panic attacks and anxiety since he was a teen. A friend has even told the tabloids the signer keeps anti-anxiety medication on hand just in case a panic attack comes on at any given time.
Kirsten Stewart
Actress Kirsten Stewart has revealed she suffered from an anxiety disorder while growing up. “Between ages 15 and 20, it was really intense. I was constantly anxious. I was kind of a control freak”, says Stewart.
“If I didn’t know how something was going to turn out, I would make myself ill, or just be locked up or inhibited in a way that was really debilitating.”
Oprah Winfrey
She is one of the most successful and powerful women of America, and she also suffers from anxiety. Oprah has revealed she has battled with her anxiety disorder most of her life after having a troubled childhood plagued with sexual abuse and loss. Being strong willed, Oprah has used her anxieties and fears as a driving force that has influenced her career today. She now uses her platform to speak out about her anxiety disorder in the hope of helping women through their own mental health struggles.
No matter how successful or wealthy you are, anxiety can come knocking at some point in your life. It’s a disorder that doesn’t discriminate and doesn’t present itself in the same way within everyone.
From panic attacks to obsessive compulsive disorder, if your anxiety is holding you back check out our top 15 tips for a future free from anxiety. Complete the form below to download:
