Rita Ora opens up about battling panic attacks, anxiety

Rita Ora is using a platform to raise awareness about mental health by openly discussing her struggles with panic attacks.

The British singer-songwriter spoke out to Evgeny Lebedev on the Brave New World podcast about her battle with anxiety illness.

She discussed how she came to recognise the telltale symptoms of panic attacks and said, “I have really bad anxiety, I think anyone in my industry has anxiety, to be honest".

"It is, I think now really cool that it's become a conversation and there's days that are better than other days, just like anxiety is, just like having panic attacks," she continued.

Admitting that panic attacks felt ‘foreign’ at first, Rita shared, “I've really learnt now to recognise when it's coming” and mentioned acupuncture technique to cope with its symptoms, “I just breathe and I just lie there for about 20 minutes.”

The I'll Be There crooner claimed that she received treatment from Chinese medicine, infrared saunas, and cold plunges, among other things. “I try and incorporate a lot of different methods, I'm not just a one-person thing.”

Notably, Rita Ora has previously acknowledged to seeing a therapist once a week in an interview with Cosmopolitan. 

With her 2023 album You and I, the British singer also offered insight into mental health issues. The album had subdued lyrics about the artist going through therapy and losing pieces of herself.