Millie Bobby Brown, the 22-year-old star of Enola Holmes and Stranger Things, has opened up about a traumatic incident that triggered a three-month-long anxiety episode. Speaking on the On Purpose podcast with Jay Shetty, she described being chased by someone and subsequently shutting down for months.
Three-month anxiety cycle
Brown explained that her anxiety manifests in long cycles rather than short bursts. 'My anxiety doesn't come on a Monday and maybe a Wednesday. Something big needs to happen and then it will probably last for two months, every day. So mine are cycles,' she said. 'One of my longest cycles must have been three months, and I got chased by somebody in a place, and it sent me into a three-month-long anxiety panic attack.'
The actress added: 'I got chased by these people and it was really traumatising. It was very, very intense and very scary. I shut down for three months.'
Healing through meditation in Japan
Brown credited a trip to Japan with helping her break the anxiety cycle. She meditated with monks, which she described as transformative. 'Meditation has never been anything that's worked for me because of my mind and how I've not been able to shut out thoughts,' she said. 'Nobody knew who I was, and if they did, they didn't care in that moment. It was amazing and I will never forget the feeling.'
She also believes in divine intervention: 'I do think that I'm a big believer in divine intervention, and I think that was a moment where God was like, you need to take a break and you need to sit there and figure out what's going on in your head. I think that really healed me in a lot of ways. It healed a lot of me.'
Motherhood and mental health
Brown, who married Jake Bongiovi last year and adopted a baby girl in August, said she wanted to understand her anxiety before starting a family. 'Anxiety is the worst thing ever and I knew I needed to heal and I needed to figure out my anxiety before starting a family. I needed to understand what was happening,' she said. 'It was the most amazing experience. It took me out of the cycle.'
Now, she has healthier coping mechanisms to break the mindset as it happens, rather than spiralling for months. She previously shared her belief in past lives, including that she was once a closeted gay soldier killed with a sword through the spine.
