WILLOW Recalls Having Anxiety Attack While Performing At 10 Years Old

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WILLOW has been in the spotlight all her life, with famous parents Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, but at just 10 years old she made her own debut in the music industry with "Whip My Hair." However, during a recent appearance on YUNGBLUD's podcast, the now 20-year-old singer discussed her struggles with mental health and recalled having an anxiety attack while performing at such a young age.

During their chat, the "Transparent Soul" singer talked about coming back into the industry after taking a step back and the challenges that come with reentering that space, per Kerrang.

"For so long I had a lot of fear," she said. "I felt extremely unsafe in my music career in the past and that feeling of insecurity or unsafety, like I didn't feel protected, which went really deep."

"I kinda had to come back from the music industry and now I'm kinda going back in," she continued. "It's interesting because all of those memories and emotions have just been resurfacing. I was doing The Jimmy Fallon performance and I had a flashback of being like 10 or 9 and having an anxiety attack on set and basically feeling like everyone around me was like, 'You're just a brat, why aren't you grateful?' They didn't see it as an anxiety attack — they saw it as a tantrum — and now I look back and know it was an anxiety attack."

As for how she copes with anxiety and protecting her mental health, she knows when to take a step back and give herself distance from the situation while also not being too hard on herself.

"I have to re-train my mind," she said. "My mental health is in a very fragile state, but I think it's in a state where it's about to grow in a really awesome way."


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