Emma Stone Opens Up About Lifelong Battle With Panic Attacks

Actress reveals in latest issue of Vogue that they began when she was 8

By Peter Gicas Jun 21, 2012 4:41 PMTags
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For Easy A star Emma Stone, growing up wasn't always, well, easy.

The 23-year-old actress reveals in the latest issue of Vogue that she began having panic attacks when she was 8.

"I was just kind of immobilized by it," Stone recalls. "I didn't want to go to my friends' houses or hang out with anybody, and nobody really understood."

Eventually, though, thanks to therapy and her decision to pursue acting as a teen, she managed to work through it.

"[Being on stage] gave me a sense of purpose," Stone says. "I wanted to make people laugh. Comedy was my sport. It taught me how to roll with the punches. Failure is the exact same as success when it comes to comedy because it just keeps coming. It never stops."

However, Stone adds that the occasional attack does happen from time to time, like while working on her most recent film, The Amazing Spider-Man.

"I think I felt really out of control of my surroundings," she admits.

So how did Stone cope?

"I was just baking all the time. It seemed like it made me feel, if I put these in, I'll know what the outcome is."