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Jennifer Lopez is getting real about her mental health.
The singer and actress recalled “feeling physically paralyzed” during severe panic attacks she endured in her late 20s, which were brought on by exhaustion.
“There was a time in my life when I used to sleep three to five hours a night,” said the 52-year-old in the latest edition of her “On the JLO” newsletter.
“I’d be on set all day and in the studio all night and doing junkets and filming videos on the weekends,” she shared. “I was in my late 20s and I thought I was invincible. Until one day, I was sitting in a trailer, and all the work and the stress it brought with it, coupled with not enough sleep to recuperate mentally, caught up with me.”
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Jennifer Lopez said her physical symptoms prompted her to seek a health professional.
(Getty)
According to Lopez, she “went from feeling totally normal to thinking about what I needed to do that day and all of a sudden I felt as if I couldn’t move.”
“I was completely frozen,” Lopez wrote, adding she “couldn’t see clearly” and the symptoms “started to scare me and the fear compounded itself.”
“Now I know it was a classic panic attack brought on by exhaustion, but I had never even heard the term at the time,” the mother of two admitted.
Lopez said the physical symptoms she experienced made her question her sanity. It was then that she sought a health professional for guidance.
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Actress Jennifer Lopez starred as late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla Pérez in the 1997 biopic ‘Selena’.
(SCOTT DEL AMO/AFP via Getty Images)
“My security guard on set came in and picked me up and drove me to the doctor,” she explained. “By the time I got there, I could at least speak again, and I was so terrified I thought I was losing my mind. I asked the doctor if I was going crazy. He said, ‘No, you’re not crazy. You need sleep… get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, don’t drink caffeine, and make sure you get your workouts in if you’re going to do this much work.”
Lopez said that solely prioritizing her work caused her to “let my own self-care needs go completely.” At this stage in her life, Lopez had launched her debut album “On the 6,” and was leading a thriving film career that involved her Golden Globe-nominated performance in “Selena,” all while juggling her first marriage to Ojani Noa. Their union lasted from 1997 until 1998.
“I realized how serious the consequences could be of ignoring what my body and mind needed to be healthy – and that’s where my journey to wellness began,” said Lopez.
Today, Lopez is determined “to live a very healthy and balanced life.”
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Jennifer Lopez said she’s determined to live a well-balanced life.
(Photo by Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
As for getting adequate rest over the years no matter her schedule, Lopez said it has paid off in plenty of ways.
“Sometimes I wake up and say, ‘Wow! I just lost 10 years off my face!’” she said.
