Emma Stone is all kinds of awesome. We can list all the reasons why we think she is, but what we admire most about her is the fact that she openly talks about topics that some people would rather not share, like anxiety. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Emma revealed some stories from her childhood about dealing with and experiencing anxiety. Read them and the antithesis that she discovered below.
On being prone to panic attacks.
"My brain naturally zooming 30 steps ahead to the worst-case scenario."
On being overcome with fear.
"When I was about seven, I was convinced the house was burning down. I could sense it. Not a hallucination, just a tightening in my chest, feeling I couldn't breathe, like the world was going to end. There were some flare-ups like that, but my anxiety was constant. I would ask my mom a hundred times how the day was gonna lay out. What time was she gonna drop me off? Where was she gonna be? What would happen at lunch? Feeling nauseous. At a certain point, I couldn't go to friends' houses anymore—I could barely get out the door to school."
On seeing a therapist.
"It helped so much. I wrote this book called 'I Am Bigger Than My Anxiety' that I still have: I drew a little green monster on my shoulder that speaks to me in my ear and tells me all these things that aren't true. And every time I listen to it, it grows bigger. If I listen to it enough, it crushes me. 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."
On finding the contrast.
"I started acting at this youth theater, doing improv and sketch comedy. You have to be present in improv, and that's the antithesis of anxiety."
Let's help each other out! Share similar stories about anxiety and other mental health issues in the comments below.
From The Candy Bulletin Community
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