Anxiety is hardly new, despite it only being recognised as a clinical category in the past 30 years, yet reports suggest it’s growing among young people. Thankfully well-known celebrities have spoken out numerous times in a bid to end stigmas and ensure people get the help they need.
Just this weekend Zayn Malik pulled out of a performance at the Capital FM Summertime Ball because of an "anxiety" attack. The former One Direction star, who was due to perform at the Wembley Stadium show, posted a lengthy apology and explanation on his Instagram account.
According to the British charity YouthNet, a third of young women and one in 10 young men suffer from panic attacks. Studies in America show a similar trend: a 2013 survey reported that 57% of female university students had experienced episodes of “overwhelming anxiety” in the previous year.
Celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Amanda Seyfried and Zac Efron have all spoken out about their personal wellbeing and we hope they continue to do so.
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Zayn Malik
Zayn took to social media to explain that his anxiety was the reason he was pulling out of the Capital Summertime Ball. The singer profusely apologised, but his anxiety was crippling him and he wouldn't be able to perform. A host of celebrities took to social media to support the singer for admitting why he would be cancelling, including his model girlfriend Gigi Hadid.
Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid at the 2016 Met Gala
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Lena Dunham
Girls creator and star Lena Dunham has long been open about her struggle with anxiety, she also talks about her struggles with endometriosis too. Speaking to the Guardian she revealed it can be the smallest thing that can set her off, she had recently had an attack thinking about the fact that she's ageing.
Lena says she has one method for coping with her anxiety attacks though and it's quite simply exercising. She said it took her 16 years before she realised it would help, but once it did she hasn't looked back and now exercises regularly to help her brain rather than her ass.
Lena Dunham
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Zac Efron
The actor had an unhealthy morning habit of Googling himself, but he says it took time to realise that it's not healthy to view yourself as other people see you. He says his anxiety meant he wouldn't do much, but overcoming the fear is what he's most proud of.
Zac Efron
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Demi Lovato
It’s the offstage stuff in particular that freaks out singer Demi Lovato, as much as she loves her job it's things like appearances or award shows that make her feel sick. She says that she always thinks of the worst possible scenario when it comes to large crowds.
Demi Lovato
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Ellie Goulding
Singer Ellie Goulding talked to Metro UK in 2013 about the therapy she went through after suffering from panic attacks, admitting that she has taken medication and used Cognitive Behavioural Therapy too.
Her first attack she admits she thought she was dying, and she went to a hospital. Goulding admits that her panic attacks often forced her to stay in because the fear of leaving the house was often so crippling she wouldn't even go to the studio to work.
Jennifer Lawrence
Lawrence admits that starting school saw the prevalence of social anxiety in her, she says she always felt worthless, but over time managed to overcome that.
Jennifer Lawrence
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Adele
It's hard to imagine that Adele gets nervous going on stage, but the reality is she does, she's even weaselled her way out of a fire exit to avoid a show, and even thrown up before she goes on stage. One show in Brussels saw her projectile vomit all over someone.
Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell says she overcompensates with her personality in the hopes that people will like her because she has an irrational fear of people not liking her. She says she knows it's not healthy and it's something she is constantly battling.
Kristen Stewart
Stewart says that for five years she was constantly feeling anxious, and needed to control everything around her. The fear of the unknown made her really sick.
Kristen Stewart
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Amanda Seyfried
Actress Amanda Seyfried told Glamour that she regularly sees a therapist to cope with her panic attacks. Although she’d made a lot of progress, Seyfried says she still panics from time to time, thinking irrational thoughts and over analysing things.
Emma Stone
Emma Stone recently told The Wall Street Journal that before getting involved with acting, she suffered from intense panic attacks. She said it was an intense three years of non-stop panic attacks, she just needed to know how the day was going to go, that no one was going to die and nothing would change.
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