“It was terrifying”: Pink talks about suffering panic attacks in her 20s”It was terrifying”: Pink talks about suffering panic attacks in her 20s
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Pink is celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month and, in a new Instagram video post, she talks about suffering from “pretty awful panic attacks” when she was “in her early 20s.”
“I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t have anybody to talk to about it and I didn’t know what to do,” the “Just Like Fire” singer admitted. She said her attacks felt “like I was having strokes, like, stroke symptoms. It was terrifying.”
Pink said she went to the hospital for help during these attacks, but said she was always told, “You’re fine. There’s nothing wrong. You’re imagining it all. It’s all in your head.” Pink didn’t take that as a final answer and sought out a therapist to learn what was causing her issues.
“I started learning all these steps on how to take care of myself,” she revealed. “I’d never been taught how to take care of myself.”
Pink says she turned to meditating, eating healthy, surrounding herself with the right people and using a “spiritual toolbox” that she keeps under her bed to help her manage these attacks. But she says music has helped the most.
“Writing songs is the probably the thing that has saved my life,” she admitted.
“I will tell you — from being a very, very afraid seven, eight, 13, 23, 31, and now 42-year-old woman — it does get better and there are beautiful moments waiting for you,” encouraged Pink. “And there are beautiful people waiting to love you, and one of those people is yourself!”
Pink is partnering with Child Mind Institute to promote its Dare to Share campaign, which encourages children to be open about their own mental health.
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