Ella Henderson was hospitalised in Los Angeles after a panic attack.
Ella Henderson
The former 'X Factor' contestant opened up on how she struggled to live with anxiety after leaving Simon Cowell's Syco record label in 2017 which resulted in her suffering an episode while she was out shopping.
Ella recalled: "I was in LA and it happened in Ikea of all places. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack. And I just started shouting at this woman in front of me like, 'Help me! Help me!' And I don't really know what happened next. All I know is I woke up in hospital on a drip and they told me I'd had a panic attack."
The 'Ghosts' hitmaker revealed that the traumatic experience turned her into a "hermit crab" as she became terrified of suffering a similar episode in public.
Speaking to The I newspaper, she said: "I could only do things from my own house and I could never be alone.
"Just to sleep at night, I needed somebody with me. It was really quite a dark time and I can remember my parents not really knowing what to do with me."
The 25-year-old singer suggests that her anxiety battle was triggered by the feeling she had "a massive hole" in her life.
Ella explained: "And that hole was me – I didn't know who I was.
"When I got up in the morning, I didn't know what I'd be doing the next day for me and my own enjoyment. I was always striving towards the next thing."
Henderson revealed that she has taken up meditation in a bid to ease her worries.
She said: "I meditate every day now. I take 10 minutes to ask, 'How am I feeling? Why am I feeling anxious? Let's write a to-do list and get it done.' It's about sorting through all these thoughts that fire off in my head every morning.
"It's been a challenge and I'm still on a journey with it – there will probably be times when I crack and crumble."
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