Meghan Trainor opened up about her panic disorder and shared advice for others

Meghan Trainor opened up about her panic disorder and shared advice for others

Meghan Trainor opens up about living with panic disorder. The "Better When I'm Dancing" singer shared some of her experiences in a recent Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk episode as part of the series in which remarkable people share stories while walking. (Psst: You can access Fitness+ content in the app on an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Apple TV.)

During her episode, the 28-year-old talked about how her life became "chaotic" after her 2016 Grammy win and how she needed vocal cord surgery in 2017. Shortly after her recovery, her assistant began listing everything she needed to do for a week, and Trainor felt like she couldn't breathe, she recalled. "I thought, 'That's it, I'm going to die like this,' and my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, was with me to calm me down," the singer said.

Trainor was anxious as a child, she noted, but it "felt like something was taking over my body," she said in the final episode. She later learned what she had experienced was a panic attack.

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“I had migraines, my head was burning, my back was burning,” she said. "I went to every doctor, acupuncturist and finally a psychologist. I said, 'I'm not depressed, I'm really happy, I have the love of my life, my career is great, my family is healthy. Nothing is wrong.'" She was eventually diagnosed with panic disorder.

Panic disorder, in case you're unfamiliar, is a condition characterized by frequent and unexplained panic attacks, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Panic attacks occur when you experience a sudden wave of fear or discomfort, or feel like you are losing control, without there being any obvious danger or trigger. (It's worth noting that it's possible to have a panic attack without developing panic disorder, the NIMH reports.)

Panic attacks usually cause symptoms that can feel like a heart attack, notes the NIMH. These include shaking, tingling, or a rapid heart rate, and may occur several times a day or just a few times a year. There are several options for treating panic disorder, including antidepressants, talk therapy, or both, the NIMH adds.

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"When a doctor tells you there's something wrong with your brain, that's the biggest thing ever, so I took antidepressants and it saved my life," Trainor said. While the singer doesn't seem to have a problem talking about her use of medication to treat her mental health, there are still stigmas surrounding the topic, as she pointed out in an interview with Romper earlier this year.

Her son Riley spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit after Trainor was born because he had trouble waking up for feedings, she previously explained, noting that nurses suggested she was to blame. "They kept asking me if I would take antidepressants during pregnancy, and I did, but on the lowest possible dose, and all my doctors said it was safe and wouldn't affect him," she told Romper. "It really sucked. They didn't have a name for what was wrong. He just wouldn't wake up."

This isn't the first time Trainor has spoken out about panic attacks either. Trainor "went to the emergency room a few times" for panic attacks, she told People in 2020. Taking medication and undergoing therapy and acupuncture helped her cope, she added. "It's been a few years now, and I haven't had a panic attack in so long that I feel like I've gotten over it. I've kicked some ass," Trainor told the magazine at the time.

Now, Trainor is her "happiest, best self," she said during her Time to Walk episode. The singer also gave advice to others. "If you're out there and you're like me, just begging for help and you're lost and you're scared, there is hope I promise," she said. “As long as you find someone and tell someone.”