Mind

How Rachel Hunter’s sister helped Peter Andre overcome his crippling panic attacks

“For two years, I suffered up to 20 panic attacks a day.”
peter andreGetty Images

Singer Peter Andre has opened up in a candid interview with Woman’s Own magazine about the crippling anxiety and panic attacks he used to face daily during the height of his fame in the 1990s, at one point so bad that he’d have up to 20 panic attacks a day.

Speaking to the magazine the 46-year-old Mysterious Girl hitmaker revealed: “I felt like I was an icon, and I started living like one, the worst thing you can do is start believing the hype surrounding you…

“All the signs were showing that mentally I wasn’t in the best shape.”

According to Metro UK, the father-of-four then went on to explain that at the time, the episodes would come out of nowhere.

The singer recalled a family meal with his parents where he suddenly found himself shaking out of the blue, revealing: “My mind became flooded with images of me hurting myself, it was terrifying.

“I ran to my room crying and shaking, I was rushed to hospital.

“For two years, I suffered up to 20 panic attacks a day, my only escape was when I was sleeping, so I would often spend up to 18 hours a day asleep.”

The British-Australian star also previously revealed in an interview with Holly and Phil on This Morning, that it was with the help of Kiwi supermodel Rachel Hunter‘s sister Jackie, that he began his journey towards understanding and re-gaining control.

“It all started from Jackie Hunter, which is Rachel Hunter’s sister, and she introduced me to someone in America that didn’t believe in medication at all.”

Peter explained that with the help of medication, which he is now free from, and years of therapy, he was able to gain control over his social anxiety.

“Medication is a bit like sweeping it under the carpet,” Peter told the hosts, “but I needed the medication to get me to the point where I could talk about what was causing my anxiety in therapy.

“Knowledge is key, once I understood what was going on… it changed over time, realising what the triggers are.”

Adding: “I also thought, how many times have I been through a panic attack and nothing has happened afterwards?

“Understanding it’s not going to hurt you makes you stronger, it puts you in a better position.”

Rachel Hunter and Peter Andre at the World Music Awards in 2010. (Image: Getty)

Peter was previously married to UK glamour model Katie Price, after they met on the third season of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, and the pair had two children together, Junior, 14, and Princess, 12, before they split in 2009.

He has found new love with Emily MacDonagh, who he married in 2015, with which he has two more children, Amelia, 5, and Theodore, 2.

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