Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards reveals her secret health battle

Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards has opened up about her secret struggle with anxiety.

The 25-year-old singer revealed she has been battling the condition for a long time and no longer wants to hide it.

The star, who found fame with her bandmates on The X Factor in 2011, admitted that her anxiety has been so bad at times that she thought she was having a heart attack.

Perrie spoke out in a candid Instagram post, which explained how she has been suffering.

She began her message by telling fans she wants to be “honest” and that “venting” is healthy.

The star wrote: “Over the past few years I have suffered really badly with anxiety and panic attacks. 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.

“The first panic attack was so intense and overwhelming I felt like I was having a heart attack.”

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I’d like to open up about something. Venting your feelings is healthy and I want to be honest with you all. Over the past few years I have suffered really badly with anxiety and panic attacks. 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. – The first panic attack was so intense and overwhelming I felt like I was having a heart attack, I was so scared and confused and had no idea what was happening to me. I’m not sure what triggered that first one but it soon spiralled & I found myself in a really dark place, feeling alone and scared. I had people around me but I couldn’t explain to them what was happening to me or why. 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. It completely took over my life. – I’m happy to say that the physical attacks have stopped but unfortunately the anxiety still lives on. The reality is it probably always will. – I’ve had a relationship with my mind for 25 years now, so to feel it working against me sometimes makes me feel like a prisoner in my own head. It feels like the most unnatural thing in the world but the thing that helped me the most was discovering I’m not alone. I’m not the only person going through this. There are people all over the world feeling the exact same way I do! As soon as I realised I wasn’t going insane I felt more eager to beat it. I had therapy and I surround myself with my loved ones. Talking to someone relieves you of SO MUCH STRESS. I worked out coping mechanism’s and learned what the triggers are so that I can fight the attacks before they take hold. I restricted my time on social media which often made me feel trapped and claustrophobic. 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 ♥️

A post shared by Perrie Edwards ✌️🌻 (@perrieedwards) on Apr 17, 2019 at 8:55am PDT

Despite her brave front when appearing with the band, the pop star went on to explain that she found herself in a “very dark place” for a long time and struggled to tell people what she was going through.

Things got so bad that she often didn’t want to leave the house.

She continued: “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. It completely took over my life.”

Read more: Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards is bookies’ favourite to be judge on The X Factor

Perrie added that after undergoing therapy she has learned how to cope with her anxiety and how to stop her panic attacks. However, she added that she accepts that her anxiety “probably always will” be there.

She revealed she takes comfort in knowing that she’s not alone and urged anyone going through the same thing to talk to someone about their worries.

Perrie went on: “I’m not the only person going through this. There are people all over the world feeling the exact same way I do! As soon as I realised I wasn’t going insane I felt more eager to beat it. I had therapy and I surround myself with my loved ones. Talking to someone relieves you of SO MUCH STRESS.

“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 thanked Perrie for her honest words and her celeb pals flooded her Instagram post with comments of support.

Read more: Stacey Solomon reveals anxiety gets so bad she ‘feels like she can’t breathe’

Her bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock left a string of heart emojis: “❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️.”

Perrie’s boyfriend, Liverpool player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, posted: “❤️💪🏽.”

And singer Pixie Lott added: “SO MUCH❤️❤️❤️❤️.”

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