12 Relatable Quotes About Anxiety From Celebrities Who Struggle With It Just Like You

By Ally Hirschlag

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. — it affects 40 million adults, or 18.1 percent of the population, every year. And only about 37 percent of those suffering receive treatment. As far as panic attacks go, panic disorder affects 6 million adults, or 2.7 percent of the population, with women twice as likely to be affected as men.

Mental illness is incredibly common and doesn’t discriminate — not even if you have celebrity status.

If you've ever had a panic attack or suffer from anxiety, you know how excruciating they can be to deal with.

RELATED: 20 Quotes And Memes That Perfectly Express What Anxiety Feels Like

We often view celebrities as golden gods who don't have a care in the world, but the truth is they deal with crushing depression and anxiety just like "normal" people do.

Here's what some of them have to say about it.

1. Emma Stone

"The first time I had a panic attack, I was sitting in my friend's house, and I thought the house was burning down. I called my mom, and she brought me home, and for the next three years, it just wouldn't stop"—​Emma Stone

Emma Stone opened up to The Wall Street Journal about panic attacks in June 2015.

2. Sarah Silverman

"Every breath is labored. You are dying. You're going to die. It's terrifying. And then when the attack is over, the depression is still there"—​Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman told Glamour in October 2015 she first experienced depression when she was 13.

3. Taylor Swift

"And it can feel, at times, if you let your anxiety get the better of you, like everybody's waiting for you to really mess up—​and then you'll be done"—​Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift opened up to NME in October 2015 about anxiety.

4. Lena Dunham

"To those struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression: I know it's mad annoying when people tell you to exercise, and it took me about 16 medicated years to listen. I'm glad I did. It ain't about the ass; it's about the brain"—​Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham posted a photo of herself dressed in workout clothes on Instagram along with a motivational caption.

5. Amanda Seyfried

"I'll start worrying about my parents or my dog, and I'll picture him opening the window of my apartment and falling out, even though I can't get that thing open myself"—​Amanda Seyfried

Amanda Seyfried revealed to Glamour U.K. in October 2011 she suffers from panic attacks.

6. Kristen Stewart

"If I didn't know how something was going to turn out, I would make myself ill or just be locked up or inhibited in a way that was really debilitating"—​Kristen Stewart

In an interview with Elle U.K. in August 2016, Kristen Stewart addressed her mental health.

RELATED: 19 Quotes For When Anxiety Feels Completely Overwhelming

7. Demi Lovato

"If I get stuck in a crowd, I start to think, 'Oh, my God, I'm going to die. Something's going to go wrong, and someone's going to stab me'"—​Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato opened up to Nylon in January 2014 about her anxiety.

8. Dakota Johnson

"Sometimes I panic to the point where I don't know what I'm thinking or doing"—​Dakota Johnson

Dakota Johnson revealed to Nylon in September 2015 she'll sometimes have an anxiety attack before auditions.

9. Jennifer Lawrence

"When I started school, the light went out. It was never known what it was, a kind of social anxiety"—​Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence opened up to French magazine Madame Figaro in November 2013 about her social anxiety. 

10. Adele

"I'm scard of audiences. One show in Amsterdam, I was so nervous I escaped out the fire exit"—​Adele

Adele told Rolling Stone in April 2011 she gets "shitty scared" of audiences.

11. Kim Basinger

"Fear has been something I've lived with my entire life, the fear of being in public places, which led to anxiety or panic attacks. I stayed in my house and literally cried every day"—​Kim Basinger

Kim Basinger opened up to New York Post in May 2007.

12. Oprah Winfrey

"In the beginning, it was just sort of speeding and a kind of numbness and going from one thing to the next thing to the next thing. I will tell you when I realized that, I thought, 'All right, if I don't calm down, I'm gonna be in serious trouble'"—​Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey told Access Hollywood in September 2013 she suffered a near nervous breakdown in 2012.

RELATED: 15 Quotes That PERFECTLY Sum Up What Having Anxiety Is Like

Ally Hirschlag is a producer, actor, and writer who lives in Brooklyn, NY. Follow her on Twitter.