Millie Bobby Brown spoke candidly about her struggle with anxiety and what she has been doing to cope with it during quarantine.
In an interview with Glamour UK published Friday (August 28), the Stranger Things star shared how she manages her anxiety.
"I keep most things private in my life," she admitted. "Personally, I struggle with anxiety and in some ways, this [being in the public eye] has hindered it. When I’m having a bad day or I’m feeling very anxious, some things like when people say, ‘Oh, you looked bad at this award show because you looked like this or you looked like that,’ those things make me a little bit more anxious and that hinders me a little bit more."
Brown revealed that learning how to drive so she can get her driver's license, as well as "Beyoncé dance classes," have helped her keep her anxiety at bay while in quarantine from the coronavirus (COVID-19).
"I get really anxious when I feel like I don't have a creative outlet," she continued. "I’ll be like, ‘Oh, maybe I need to write a song,’ or maybe, ‘I need to think of an idea.’ I found out I’m nonstop just as a person. I don’t really like to sit still."
"I have learned to manage it in ways that a lot of people learn to manage things like breathing exercises or distracting your mind and my hobbies help distract me from being anxious," she said. "Driving takes my anxiety away, actually. I thought it would heighten it. I just don't think about anything."
In April, the 16-year-old actress spoke with Miley Cyrus on her Brightminded Instagram show about the beginning of her battle with anxiety.
"Since maybe I turned 15, about two years ago, I just started having really bad panic attacks and really bad anxiety and I just struggled with it really bad," she told Cyrus. Brown revealed that her puppy Winnie is actually her therapy dog.
"I still struggle with it but it’s getting better," she added. "I’m working on it but it’s something that I don’t really– I’m not as carefree as I was when I was ten and just started in Stranger Things. And now a lot of people have a lot more to say about me. There’s a lot of good but there’s a lot of bad."