Little Mix Fans Praise Perrie Edwards As She Shares Her Experiences Of Panic Attacks And Anxiety

"I suffer from anxiety and I want you to all know if you suffer from anxiety you’re not alone."

Little Mix fans have been sending their support to singer Perrie Edwards, after she spoke for the first time about her struggles with panic attacks and anxiety.

Perrie shared her experiences in a candid Instagram post on Wednesday night, revealing she’s been struggling with anxiety for years, but has been able to curb her panic attacks with the help of therapy and speaking to those around her.

She wrote: “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.”

Describing her first “intense and overwhelming” panic attack, Perrie said that her mental condition “spiralled” from there, leaving her “in a really dark place, feeling alone and scared”.

Perrie Edwards
Perrie Edwards
Karwai Tang via Getty Images

“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,” she continued. “It completely took over my life.”

Perrie added that it was only after finding out that others with anxiety felt the same way as her that she “felt more eager to beat it”, speaking to a therapist and loved ones, developing coping mechanisms and “restricting her time on social media”.

She added: “I took control of my life and accepted what I couldn’t control… 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.”

Fans were quick to thank the star for her honesty, with many also sharing their own experience of mental health struggles, inspired by her:

I needed this so bad you don’t understand. Having anxiety is so hard to talk about unless you talk with people that actually have it. For perrie to say this is so motivating and such a relief to have an idol that understands you pic.twitter.com/ZDC8jja7vD

— 𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐱 (@jesysconfidence) April 17, 2019

@LittleMix just wanted to say that seeing your insta was so inspiring Perrie, I have anxiety and ocd but it’s great to see that I’m not as on my own as I sometimes feel 💗

— sophie (@_sophieeanna) April 17, 2019

Perrie opening up about her mental health is honestly so inspiring. As someone that’s also suffered from severe anxiety, it’s amazing to have your idol openly speak about it. I’m so proud of her for getting the help she needed ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ZvlNvjxJSd

— jord ◟̽◞̽ (@mixerkweens) April 17, 2019

@LittleMix seeing perrie talk about her anxiety is so inspiring. anxiety sucks and i find it hard to talk about. i love and respect her so much

— 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐲 (@womanlikedemi) April 17, 2019

I'm never going to stop saying how proud I am of perrie for opening up about her struggles with anxiety and panic attacks <3 a literal angel x

— Em Loves Perrie 💓 (@M0nsterInPerrie) April 17, 2019

perrie opening up about her anxiety and panic attacks is extremely important.. i’m glad someone with a platform like hers is being so brutally honest about mental health and hopefully her words will help people in recognising that they might need therapy to cope with the effects pic.twitter.com/8Zp0FZg2s6

— eleni👄 (@holylarents) April 17, 2019

i’ve been feeling so run down & riddled with anxiety for the past few weeks & it just ended up in the biggest breakdown & me feeling constantly shit so seeing perries recent post the literal same hour i redownloaded insta has made me feel .. better? knowing i’m not alone and -

— shelbs ❥ perrie (@perriesgem) April 17, 2019

it’s not *my* fault is just refreshing. i find when i’m in these mindsets i feel so alone and confused and like everything’s my fault so a little reminder like that is what i need sometimes

— shelbs ❥ perrie (@perriesgem) April 17, 2019

i've never related to perrie more that i do now that she's opened up about her anxiety. so proud of her for sharing her thoughts and experience. so many people go through the same thing, and it's so helpful to know that we're not alone in this, thank u @LittleMix <3

— alice (@leighsrosie) April 17, 2019

perrie will be a patron for the breast cancer charity, she opened up about her anxiety and panic attacks,helped too many people to feel confident about their skin everyone should be proud of that angel.

— nicki loves jade (@motivatedjade) April 17, 2019

seeing this all over my timeline makes me proud of perrie and my mutuals for being brave sharing their stories about having anxiety, love you all ♥️#SpeakUpWithPerrie @LittleMix pic.twitter.com/SJ1Hc0c4GC

— faye🌹 (@Only_LM) April 18, 2019

Since the release of their most recent album LM5, Little Mix have been speaking up about a number of issues close to their heart, with Leigh-Anne Pinnock detailing the racism she has experienced as the only black member of the band and Jesy Nelson announcing a documentary for BBC Three centred around body image.

Last year, they told HuffPost UK that as they enter a new stage of their career, they have felt more comfortable being open about their experiences, with Perrie saying: “I think, honestly now we’ve got older and we’ve been in the industry for a long time, we’ve experienced things that we’re like, ‘do you know what? I ain’t gonna hush-hush anymore’.

“If I’m feeling something, and I’m feeling passionate about it and something’s happened to me, personally, in the band, workplace, whatever the situation, I’m going to speak out about it.”

Useful websites and helplines:

  • Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393
  • Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.)
  • The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@themix.org.uk
  • Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0300 5000 927 (open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on www.rethink.org.
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