Here Are 9 Famous People And Celebrities With Anxiety Disorders
1. Selena Gomez
A singer, actress, and producer, Selena Gomez is a vocal celebrity with anxiety and depression who has been open about her struggles.
The 29-year-old admitted to freaking out when she reached 100 million followers on Instagram and has regularly taken time away from social media. She also sought therapy and treatment in her early 20s.
Recently, Gomez announced the launch of a mental health platform called WonderMind to connect people with educational resources related to mental health issues.
2. Stephen Colbert
Host of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and longtime comedian and actor, Colbert has talked about his struggles with anxiety, especially while in college and later at the Second City Theater in Chicago.
I needed to be medicated when I was younger to deal with my anxiety that I had thrown my life away by attempting to do something that so few people actually get away with or succeed at, he told Rolling Stone Magazine in a 2018 interview.
3. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
The world-famous 37-year-old British Royal, Prince Harry hasnt pulled any punches when talking about coping with panic attacks and severe anxiety.
In a docu-series called The Me You Cant See, produced with Oprah Winfrey, about the emotional fallout after the passing of his mother, Princess Diana, the Prince revealed he was all over the place mentally and would experience panic attacks before leaving the house.
4. Emma Stone
5. Lena Dunham
6. Michael Phelps
7. Ryan Reynolds
Gabourey Sidibe Talks Candidly About Mental Health In Her Memoir This Is Just My Face: Try Not To Stare
In the book, the actress reveals how she struggled with depression in college and eventually developed bulimia. After experiencing suicidal thoughts, the Oscar nominee turned to a professional for help.
“I just accepted depression as something that’s part of my anatomy,” Sidibe told People. “It’s part of my chemistry, it’s part of my biology.” She continued: “When it’s too big for me to just turn around on my own, I see a therapist.”
Cara Delevingne Struggled With Depression As A Teenager
In an interview on This Morning, the model said that she used to feel guilty for being depressed. But after she realized she wasn’t alone, that “everyone goes through similar things,” she began to recover.
“If you learn to love yourself and not give in to what other people think about you or not care what they think, and just follow your dreams, you can achieve anything,” Delevingne said. “And that’s what I want to be for teenagers not necessarily a role model, but someone who has gone through it and come out the other side.”
Read Also: What If My Depression Never Goes Away
Famous People With Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent worrying, often about a wide range of topics rather than one thing in particular. Some of the most famous celebrities have suffered at one time or another with this type of anxiety, which affects a large percentage of the general population. Notable celebrities include:
Prince Harry Amanda Seyfried And Megan Thee Stallion Have All Opened Up About Living With Anxiety
Anxiety disorders affect an estimated 301 million people around the world, according to the World Health Organization , and celebrities are far from immune. In fact, anxiety is fairly commonplace in Hollywood and among others in the spotlight given the demanding nature of their professions.
Creatives and athletes are often under extreme pressure to reproduce the same or better caliber work that catapulted them to fame in the first place, all while under an increasingly critical public eye.
Contractual agreements and strict deadlines with record labels, producers, coaches, and others can lead artists and sports stars to repeatedly emphasize performance over their health and well-being. Add to that their erratic schedules long hours on set, late-night concerts, demanding itineraries, and grueling practices and its no wonder that anxiety is common among the glitterati.
The good news: By coming to understand their conditions , the following celebrities who live with various types of anxiety, including generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder have been able to manage their anxiety and continue to thrive in their careers.
You May Like: Major Depressive Disorder Medical Procedure
Famous Women On Dealing With Anxiety
A series about coping with our most anxious year yet.
During the last two years, the number of women experiencing anxiety has skyrocketed. Millions of people worldwide have anxiety disorders, and women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed in their lifetime, which is also true of depression. Back in 2020, when the world was first in lockdown, many people spoke out about how the isolation was affecting their mental health. Celebs like Selena Gomez took to Instagram to share diagnoses, and athletes like Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles took time off to care for their mental health. Below, weve rounded up sage advice from famous women who have lived through low moments and arent afraid to talk about it.
Read on to hear from Lady Gaga, Zendaya, Kerry Washington, Selena Gomez, and others on coping mechanisms, the importance of asking for and accepting help, and the necessity of speaking out about anxiety and mental health struggles.
3. ChikaIve seen so much pain and so much realness in other people. Exposing my own almost feels like second nature. It doesnt feel like if I say Hey, Ive been suicidal before someone could use that against me. I dont feel vulnerable when Im saying these things It almost feels like having a superpower of having iron just on me. Nothing penetrates that. the Cut, September 2020
Celebrities: Theyre Just Like Us
When you think of a celebrity, you often think of someone that is very successful, rich, and just perfect overall, whether it be their looks or personality. But in reality, they are no different from you or me. We are all human and we all go through hardship because that is just life. And with the strong influence of the media in todays society, I really appreciate it when they open up about their struggles because it shows people that even though they are seen as perfect they struggle just like us. It makes them seem more human than the gods they are painted to be, and it also makes my respect for them increase massively. It is not easy to tell millions of people, who look up to you, that you are struggling with mental health, but when you do, you not only show the world who you truly are, but you also let those who inspire you to be you know that it is okay to struggle.
G.H., Fountain Valley High School
Reyna, Atrisco Heritage Academy High School
Anne, Glenbard West High School
Im a pretty small guy. Smallest in my family, friend group, and a lot more. As a small athlete I look up to the athletes who have made it to pro and have had to suffer through some of the same things Im going through right now. For example, Tyreek Hill has told the public growing up when he was younger was always hard for him because of his height, but that didnt matter because all that did was made him push himself even harder.
Recommended Reading: How To Sleep Better With Anxiety And Depression
Discover Candid Revelations From The Stars And The Ways They Cope
World Mental Health Day offers an invaluable opportunity to encourage people to open up and most importantly, to raise awareness and break down taboos surrounding issues like depression, anxiety and body image struggles.
SEE: Emotional Prince Harry fulfils promise to WellChild Award winners following Queen’s death
Mental health problems will affect one in four people in the UK every year education is key and by rounding up some brave confessions and powerful messages of hope from royals such as Prince Harry, and high-profile celebrities including David Beckham and Beyoncé we hope that it serves as a reminder that’s alright not to feel okay some of the time, and to talk to someone.
WATCH: Prince William and Kate interrupt radio stations for important announcement
Lena Dunham On Dealing With Negative People
Lena Dunham, well known for writing and acting in the HBO television series Girls, has also penned two books about her college years: Not That Kind of Girl and Is It Evil Not to Be Sure? The writer and actress posted a workout selfie to Instagram that included a caption about how exercise calms her anxiety symptoms.
In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, she talked about her anxiety, the fact that she has been in therapy since childhood, and body acceptance issues. “You know, it gets easier and easier. My fears came true: people called me fat and hideous, and I lived. And now I keep living.”
Don’t Miss: How To Help Someone Cure Depression
Leann Rimes On Getting The Help You Need
As a country pop star, LeAnn Rimes has won numerous awards. She’s known for songs like “Blue” and “We Can” of Legally Blonde 2-soundtrack fame. In a 2012 interview with People, she talked about entering a treatment facility for anxiety and stress.
“This is just a time for me to emotionally check out for a second and take care of myself and come back in 30 days as the best 30-year-old woman I can be,” she said. “All the things in my life will be there when I get out, but you know what? I’m hoping they’re not going to affect me as much. I’ll have the tools to know how to deal with them.”
/10depression Is Still A Taboo
We live in a country where depression is still considered a fancy term for feeling a little down and out. While we as a country and society have definitely come a long way from the time when mental health conditions were considered equivalent to being crazy, there is no shred of doubt that we still have to cover miles in terms of normalising the same.
Don’t Miss: Do You Cry When You Have Depression
Emma Stone Has Detailed Her Experiences With Anxiety And Therapy On Several Occasions
“I was a very, very, very anxious child, and I had a lot of panic attacks,” Stone said on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in September 2017. The actress also shared a photo of a “little green monster” she had drawn to represent her anxiety when she was 9 years old.
“If I listen to enough, it crushes me,” the Oscar winner explained to Rolling Stone in 2016. “But if I turn my head and keep doing what I’m doing let it speak to me, but don’t give it the credit it needs then it shrinks down and fades away.”
The “La La Land” star credits therapy, acting, and improv for helping her cope with anxiety. “You have to be present in improv, and that’s the antithesis of anxiety,” she told Rolling Stone.
Shawn Mendes Said That Opening Up About His Anxiety Was One Of The Scariest But Most Important Things Ive Ever Done
Mendes’ hit song “In My Blood” was inspired by his mental health.
“Talking about the problem, putting it out there, was one of the scariest but most important things I’ve ever done,” Mendes told People.
He added: “I still struggle with it but just remember every day that everyone deals with some level of anxiety or pressure we’re all in it together.”
Speaking to The Sun in 2018, Mendes said that he “made a conscious effort to be more connected to the people in my life. I found I was closing myself off from everybody, thinking that would help me battle it.”
“All pain is temporary, and the thing is with anxiety, and why it’s such a hard thing for people who don’t have it to understand, is that it is very random and it hits you at moments you don’t expect it,” the singer said.
Also Check: Is Depression Easy To Overcome
In January 2017 Hayden Panettiere Offered Some Advice For Fellow Moms Who Have Struggled With Postpartum Depression
“Women are so resilient and that’s the incredible thing about them … I think I’m a better mom for it because you never take that connection for granted,” the actress said on “Good Morning America.”
The actress, whose “Nashville” character Juliette Barnes also struggled with PPD in season four, said her role helped her identify “what was going on” and shared a “great message” that it’s OK for women to “ask for help and have a moment of weakness.”
“It doesn’t make you a bad person or a bad mother,” she continued.
Kristen Stewart On Rolling With The Punches
Kristen Stewart, best known for her roles in movies like Twilight and Snow White and the Huntsman, had panic attacks and stomachaches when she was younger. Now, she says, she’s grown out of the symptoms but still has worries.
“I obviously hope everything going on right now will work out, but I am confident that life is good and I’ll be OK whatever happens. So in moments when that is cloudy and I feel saturated and unable to engage in how good life can be, however consuming those feelings are, they are so momentaryI’m think pretty good at being happy,” she told Elle in 2016.
Also Check: How To Fight Depression As A Christian
Celebrities Who Have Opened Up About Depression
Michelle Obama, Ben Affleck, and Demi Lovato have discussed their mental health
Celebrities seem to have it allfame, money, good looks, or plain good luckbut they experience depression and other mental health problems just like their millions of fans do. Facing enormous pressure to appear perfect, public figures once kept their struggles with mental health private, but this tendency has changed dramatically in the 21st century.
Today, actors, musicians, political figures, and even royalty have opened up about their battles with mood disorders, personality disorders, substance abuse, and grief. Their willingness to share their diagnoses with the public indicates that mental illness is not as taboo of a subject as it once was. It also sends the powerful message that depression does not discriminate. No one, not even the rich and famous, is immune to this serious mental health condition.
Rich Fury/VF20 / Getty Images
Rapper, producer, and fashion designer Kanye West’s mental health problems have been public for years.
In particular, the 2007 death of his mother, Donda West, which stemmed from heart disease and complications following plastic surgery, has haunted him. The musician has said that he blames himself for his mothers demise because the pressures of life in Los Angeles, where she moved to manage his career, likely led her to seek out the procedures that led to her death.
More Famous People And Celebrities With Anxiety
Being the center of attention is difficult for most people living with mental health issues.
So it must be especially challenging for celebrities with social anxiety disorders who are constantly followed by the press and expected to speak or perform for a living.
Like those mentioned above, here are other famous people with anxiety who have also spoken publicly about the challenges they experienced, and strategies they used to overcome them.
Read Also: Depressed Stocks To Buy Now
Kendall Jenner Reality Tv Star
In a four-part interview with Vogue, Kendall Jenner spoke openly about what its like to live with anxiety. I remember being really young and having shortness of breath and going to my mom and telling her, said Jenner. In hindsight now I know that that was obviously anxiety.
Now when Jenner finds herself struggling with anxiety including social anxiety she turns to strategies proven to help her face the day with a calmer, more positive mindset, she explained in an April 2022 post. Some of those go-to strategies, Jenner wrote, are deep breathing, journaling, practicing gratitude, and being outside in the sun.
Big Bang Theory Star Mayim Bialik Said That Her Obsessive
“It’s still really hard for me,” the actress said in a video for Child Mind Institute’s #MyYoungerSelf campaign. “But what I’ve found is that with trusting other people and learning to trust other people and lean on them for support, you can make changes and still be OK.”
Bialik went on to say that she was able to cut off her hair and “couldn’t have done it without people helping me.”
Also Check: Meal Plan For Anxiety And Depression
Back In 2016 Kid Cudi Went To Rehab For His Anxiety And Depression He Wrote An Open Letter To His Fans Explaining That They’ve Ruled My Life For As Long As I Can Remember
His letter read, “My anxiety and depression have ruled my life for as long as I can remember and I never leave the house because of it…I can’t make new friends because of it. I don’t trust anyone because of it and I’m tired of being held back in my life. I deserve to have peace. I deserve to be happy and smiling.”
More Famous People And Celebrities With Anxiety Disorders
- Leonardo Dicaprio
Many people deal with their anxiety symptoms by keeping private or alone in isolation. Thats almost never possible when youre famous and everyone knows who you are. No wonder so many celebrities try to hide their appearance when they go out in public.
Your favorite actor, musician, or athlete may have social anxiety and is naturally nervous about being around others in public because of the condition. That would explain why they shy away from autographs or being open and friendly when out and about.
They say its important to always be kind to others because you never know what they may be going through on the inside. For celebrities with anxiety, they know this all too well.
Recommended Reading: How To Stop Morning Depression