Valerie Bertinelli shared a video of the aftermath of what she said was "a really bad anxiety attack" because she wants to let others experiencing them know they are "not alone."
The celebrity chef, actor and lifestyle expert shared a video on Instagram on Nov. 17 that depicted her hand shaking over a countertop. She included a lengthy caption in which she described her history with anxiety attacks and asked others what their experiences have been like.
"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," she wrote. "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."
Bertinelli, 64, said the video is from an anxiety attack that took her "a little bit by surprise" on Sunday.
"This is the after effect," she wrote. "As I’m going through the actual attack (lol attack is such an appropriate word. My body and my mind feels like it’s actually under attack 😅) Anyway…
"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."
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She then described how she handles the 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," she said.
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Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is described by the Cleveland Clinic as a "mental health treatment technique" to help people heal from trauma and "involves moving your eyes a specific way while you process traumatic memories."
"Part of me 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," Bertinelli added in her post.
She asked her followers if they have experienced something similar.
"Tell me I’m not the only one out here 😬 and is there anything that you have also found to be helpful?" she wrote. "Anyway…this little bit of vulnerability is brought to you by someone who wants you to know you’re not alone."
Bertinelli has been open about various struggles in her life, including being "emotionally exhausted," her parenting "mistakes" with son Wolfgang, her former marriages, and how she turned to food to "soothe an emotion."
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
