Valerie Bertinelli is being vulnerable with fans. In a Nov. 17 Instagram post, the former Food Network host, 64, revealed that she suffered her worst anxiety attack in a “very, very long time.”
“I’ve sat on this post for a day because it’s incredibly vulnerable and that’s always scary to share,” Bertinelli wrote alongside a video of her shaking hand. “But I’m posting because we’re all out here doing our best having a human experience and none of us want to feel like we’re alone in that.”
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Bertinelli continued, “So I don’t know if you can tell from this video (and my heart is still beating a little rapidly as I write this) I had a really bad anxiety attack today. I haven’t had one like this in a very, very long time. A few hours ago, I was weeping uncontrollably, and my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest. I couldn’t stop shaking.”
Although the One Day at a Time actress said she knew she was “taking a chance,” she explained that she wanted “to share it because I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one out here who has experienced this.” She admitted that the anxiety attack “took me a little bit by surprise today,” as “these attacks have become much more infrequent.”
“I almost disassociate and am focused solely on calming down and finding any road to a more relaxed and peaceful body. Because I know it’s just my brain overthinking and catastrophizing, but my body goes into overdrive and I have no control over it,” Bertinelli explained as she opened up about how she gets through anxiety attacks. “Hours later, as I’m doing my best to meditate and EMDR my way out of this, this is the after effect that I can’t quite seem to calm all the way yet.”
The star said part of her is “fascinated by what the human body is capable of when our feelings can get in the way or override any reasonable thought and another part of me is just curious on how all of this happens, you know the weird neuropathies in our brain and how it affects our bodies, what feelings (which are just information btw) are and why are they so powerful that they make our body go into overdrive.”
She went on to ask her fans if they “experience an extreme anxiety attack, and then the after effects still take a bit to calm? Tell me I’m not the only one out here.” She also asked what others have found to help them.
Fans were quick to chime in, one person writing, “if you put your hands in ice cold water-I mean with ice in it! It really helps!” Somebody else suggested that “breathing in to a count of 4 and exhaling to a count of 4 help.” Others praised Bertinelli for being so vulnerable, one person commenting, “I think it’s really beautiful you’ve chosen to share this because I’m sure it will help others out there feel less alone and realize it’s okay to be vulnerable and ask for help.”
Bertinelli concluded her post by writing, “this little bit of vulnerability is brought to you by someone who wants you to know you’re not alone.”
