The Little Mix girls have never been the type to hold back from sharing their feelings, but Perrie Edwards' most recent Instagram post is perhaps her most honest yet.
Perrie, who is dating Liverpool and England footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, shared a stunning photo of herself with her fans, opening up about her struggles with anxiety and panic attacks.
The 25-year-old wrote, '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.'
Perrie continued, '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.'
The 'Black Magic' singer went on to reveal her physical attacks have now stopped, but she still lives with anxiety every day.
She said, '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.'
Admitting she sometimes feels like she's a 'prisoner' in her head, Perrie wrote, '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!'
Perrie concluded her message revealing she's worked out 'coping mechanisms', writing, '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 ♥'.
Perrie has enjoyed worldwide success since Little Mix won The X Factor back in 2011. The girls have stormed the charts, sold millions of records, toured the world and performed at some of the biggest events in the world.
Check out Little Mix through the years below:
Little Mix Through the years slider
1 of 242011
After being put into a group by Kelly Rowland on The X Factor in 2011, the Little Mix girls rocked denim and trainers as they posed at the Judges Houses' stage of the competition.
2 of 242011
Throughout their time on The X Factor, Jade, Perrie, Jesy and Leigh-Anne stuck with the same 'colour and prints' theme for performances, each making an identify for themselves.
3 of 242011
Attending the Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 premiere in 2011 with their X Factor mentor Tulisa, the Little Mix girls dressed up in stunning LBDs.
4 of 242011
After winning The X Factor ahead of Marcus Collins, Little Mix started to make an identity as a band, co-coordinating their outfits both on stage and at events.
5 of 242012
One year on from their historic win on The X Factor, Little Mix returned to perform their brand new single, looking more grown up.
6 of 242012
At the launch for Little Mix's debut album 'DNA', Jade, Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Jesy looked stunning in black outfits.
7 of 242013
All of the Little Mix girls have experimented with their hair colours, but in 2013 Perrie went for purple, whilst Jade was rocking the colour blue.
8 of 242013
Attending their first ever BRIT Awards in 2013, Little Mix dressed up for the occasion, all wearing totally different outfits.
9 of 242013
Experimenting even further with her hair in 2013, Perrie changed her look from purple to dip dye pink later in the year.
10 of 242016
After taking some time off to work on their new album, Little Mix returned in 2016 with a brand new look. Looking a lot more grown up, the girls started to wear a lot more custom-designed outfits on stage.
11 of 242015
Perrie couldn't resist getting into the Disney spirit in 2015 when she made a trip to Disneyland Paris!
12 of 242016
Walking the red carpet ahead of their first ever BRIT Awards performance, Little Mix oozed glamour as they invited their mums along for the party.
13 of 242016
That same night the girls took to the stage in matching green and black outfits to give an incredible performance of their hit song 'Black Magic'.
14 of 242017
After receiving some harsh criticism online for some of the more risqué outfits, Little Mix wore suits for their performance of 'Power' during The X Factor finals in 2017.
15 of 242017
After taking more of an interest in fashion, attending various fashion events with her band mate Jade Thirlwal, Leigh-Anne started to take inspiration, wearing this cute number for her birthday in 2017.
16 of 242017
Little Mix embraced the race driving theme brilliantly in 2017 when they performed at F1 Live in London.
17 of 242017
The girls attended the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles in 2017, rocking the red carpet with their different outfit choices.
18 of 242017
Whilst Perrie, Jade and Leigh-Anne stuck with their natural hair colours in 2017, Jesy experimented a lot, even dying her hair bright pink!
19 of 242018
Looking completely stunning, Jade, Leigh-Anne, Jesy and Perrie rocked the red carpet at the 2018 BRIT Awards. Whilst most fans loved their look, Jesy, Jade and Perrie were quick to mock Leigh-Anne for wearing her 'dressing gown'.
20 of 242018
Little Mix stars Leigh-Anne and Jade attended The British Fashion Awards in 2018, wearing stunning dresses to the prestigious event.
21 of 242018
The girls went for a more retro look during a performance to their fans in Germany in 2018.
22 of 242018
At the launch of their amazing album 'LM5' in 2018, Leigh-Anne, Jesy, Perrie and Jade looked casual and chic as they signed copies of their album for fans.
23 of 242018
Ahead of their performance with American rapper Nicki Minaj, Jesy injected a bit of colour into Little Mix's red carpet look at the 2018 MTV EMA Awards, whilst Leigh-Anne rocked green dreadlocks.
24 of 242018
The girls then changed into smart black and white suits for their first ever performance of 'Woman Like Me' with Nicki Minaj.
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