Alessia Cara on How She Dealt With Her Anxiety That Turned Into 'Full-Blown Panic Attacks'

Alessia Carais being candid about her mental health journey.

“I was dealing with a lot of anxiety and that anxiety turned into full-blown panic attacks,” the 25-year-old tells PEOPLE. “I was dealing with panic attacks like days and days on end for hours at a time. It was some of the more scarier days of my life.”

The singer, who recently released her track “Sweet Dream,” says she had to “make a lot of changes to my lifestyle” in order to get better.

“I take a lot of baths now and relax my body,” she says.

Cara also spoke about the music video for her song “Shapeshifter,” where she plays five different characters, including a cheating husband!

“Funnily enough, it kept falling off,” she says about wearing a fake mustache. “It was so hot outside that I was sweating. So like, every tick, I’d have to readjust because it was sliding off of my face.”

“It was was hard to stand my ground because I was so young and I was so new and people have a vision of what you should be,” she says. “The public is always judging me and talking about the way I look and this and that, so that, for me was a statement of like, I can dothis. And I can also do that.”

“I still belong here because it’s about the things I’m saying. Listen to what I’m saying,” she adds.

As for how things have changed for her, she says, “I have days where I hate everything, and I don’t even want to leave my bed. I hate everything. But then there’s other times where I feel a lot more comfortable and more confident.”

“I feel like overall I have a new lightness to life,” she adds.

If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

source: people.com