Bobby Brown has revealed she experienced a three-month-long cycle of anxiety and panic attacks after what she described as a “traumatising” incident in which she was chased by a group of people.
The Stranger Things star opened up about her mental health during an appearance on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, explaining that her anxiety tends to come in prolonged cycles following major events.
“My anxiety doesn’t come on a Monday and maybe a Wednesday,” the 22-year-old said.
“Something big needs to happen and then it will probably last for two months, every day. So mine are cycles.”
Brown recalled one of her most difficult experiences, saying: “One of my longest cycles must have been three months and I got chased by somebody in a place and it sent me into a three-month-long anxiety panic attack.
“I got chased by these people and it was really traumatising. It was very, very intense and very scary. I shut down for three months.”
The actress became emotional as she described how a trip to Japan helped her recover. She said spending time meditating with monks gave her techniques to manage her anxiety.
“Anxiety is the worst thing ever and I knew I needed to heal and I needed to figure out my anxiety before starting a family. I needed to understand what was happening,” she said.
“It was the most amazing experience. It took me out of the cycle.”
Brown also said the experience changed her perspective on meditation.
“Meditation has never been anything that’s worked for me because of my mind and how I’ve not been able to shut out thoughts,” she said.
“Nobody knew who I was, and if they did, they didn’t care in that moment. It was amazing and I will never forget the feeling.”
She added: “I do think that I’m a big believer in divine intervention, and I think that was a moment where God was like, you need to take a break and you need to sit there and figure out what’s going on in your head.
“I think that really healed me in a lot of ways. It healed a lot of me.”
Brown was 12 when she began filming Stranger Things, which premiered in 2016. The hit Netflix series came to an end earlier this year.
Away from the sci-fi drama, she stars as the title character in Netflix’s Enola Holmes films and is set to reprise the role in the upcoming third instalment. She also appeared in the fantasy film Damsel and The Electric State, alongside Chris Pratt, and will next star opposite Gabriel LaBelle in the romantic comedy Just Picture It.
Source: Press Association