Given the symptoms of panic attacks, it can be incredibly distressing to have to live with them and professional treatment is necessary when they begin to overwhelm someone’s life. Treatment options include antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and various forms of therapy that allow you to openly discuss your feelings with a licensed mental health professional to better understand your own anxiety triggers and how to manage them.
As Pink details, her path to treatment was fraught with obstacles and challenges. Frequently, she’d visit the emergency room after her panic attack, fearing something was gravely wrong, only to be dismissed by doctors. “I had a number of EKGs [electrocardiograms] that always led back to ‘You’re fine, you’re fine, there’s nothing wrong, you’re imagining it all, it’s all in your head.”
It wasn’t until Pink found therapy that she began to see change. “I started learning all these stops on how to take care of myself, I’d never been taught how to take care of myself,” said the singer. Alongside her therapist, Pink built a “spiritual toolbox” of self-care practices to help with her anxiety, including activities like meditation, relaxing rituals, exercise and songwriting. “Writing songs is probably the thing that has saved my life,” says Pink.
Pink has often spoken about the power of putting pen to paper and writing to express those emotions so many keep bottled up inside. “I encourage all of you to write, journal, talk to someone, and start building your own spiritual toolbox,” she said. “I will tell you from being a very, very afraid 7-, 8-, 13-, 23-, 31-, and now 42-year-old woman, it does get better and there are beautiful moments waiting for you and there are beautiful people waiting to love you,” said Pink.
“And one of those people is yourself.”
