Celebrity
YouTuber Zoella Films Herself Having A Panic Attack On Instagram
Instagram / Zoe Sugg
British YouTuber Zoe Sugg AKA Zoella filmed herself during a panic attack to raise awareness about anxiety disorders. The 29-year-old influencer was out to dinner with her boyfriend, Alfie Deyes, and best friend, Tanya Burr, on Tuesday when she began to experience an anxiety attack and had to step outside. Zoe decided to upload a time-lapse of her experience to her Instagram Stories to shed light on the realities of living with anxiety to her fans.
The videos showed Zoe outside the restaurant while her best friend, fellow YouTuber Tanya Burr, attempted to calm her down. On top of the videos, she wrote: “Over the past 15 years I’ve done this A LOT! In fact, for a good part of my early twenties, I spent half my time at restaurants (if I ever dared to go in the first place) ‘getting fresh air’ outside!”
Instagram / Zoe Sugg via Twitter
In another clip, she wrote: “Just thought I’d share this little snippet with you! Because often it can look like people are having the most normal and glamorous evening but you don’t always know the full picture.”
Instagram / Zoe Sugg via Twitter
During the videos, Tanya could be seen trying to calm Zoe down and placing her hand on her stomach to help with breathing exercises. Zoe explained that having friends around her when she feels anxious really helps give her a “reality check.” She wrote: “Certainly helps when you have people who love you and care about you who know EXACTLY what to say and give you the time you need.”
When she got home, the YouTuber answered some questions on her Instagram Stories about her anxiety, telling fans that she first began experiencing panic attacks when she was a teenager but didn’t understand what it was. She also mentioned that she would “not be the person I am today and enjoying life at the capacity I’m now able to enjoy it at” if she wasn’t going to therapy.
Instagram / Zoe Sugg via WeTheUnicorns
Zoe has been open with her fans about her mental health for almost 10 years now, and her followers frequently applaud her for speaking out about the widespread issue.
As weird as it sounds I loved watching @ZoeSugg ‘s insta stories with @TanyaBurr helping her through a panic attack because I have no one that would know what to do or would be willing to help me all I get is “yeah that must suck” and “just calm down”
— Gemimalee (@Gemimalee) July 17, 2019
@ZoeSugg thank you so much for this. I suffer with really bad health anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia and can often feel very alone. Thank you for spreading awareness and not being afraid to show what the reality is 💛 pic.twitter.com/Wf48MzPaF5
— Jade Hazell (@JadeCrumble) July 16, 2019
@ZoeSugg i feel your pain. I had a massive breakdown at work saturday and having panic attacks since, hope you are feeling better x
— mazipan83 (@mazipan1983) June 5, 2019
To learn more about Zoe’s experience with anxiety, watch her 2012 video below.
