Amanda Seyfried Talked About Experiencing "Bizarre" Panic Attacks

Amanda Seyfried spoke about experiencing "bizarre" panic attacks during an interview with Willie Geist on Sunday's episode of the Today Show.

The Art Of Racing In The Rain; New York Premiere
The Art Of Racing In The Rain; New York Premiere
(Image credit: Getty Images/BAUZEN)

Amanda Seyfried shared her experience of "bizarre" panic attacks during an interview with Willie Geist on Sunday's episode of the Today Show. "It feels like life or death," Seyfried said. "That's what a panic attack is, really."

"Your body just goes into fight or flight," Seyfried shared. "The endorphin rush and the dump that happens after the panic attack is so extraordinary. You just feel so relieved and your body is just kind of recovered in a way. It's so bizarre because it's physiological, but it starts in your head."

"It never goes away," she added.

Seyfried, who is up for an Oscar for her role as Marion Davies in Mank, said her mom woke her up with the happy news of her nomination. "It hasn't really hit me yet," she said. "It's a recognition, it's an achievement that I didn't set out to expect. I was never desperate for it."

"I’m gonna celebrate," she continued. "I’m going to the Oscars as a nominee!"

Seyfried spoke about living on a farm in upstate New York with husband Thomas Sadoski and their two children, explaining they made a "very conscious" decision to live far from the center of the entertainment industry. "I've always wanted to live on a farm. I just need to feel grounded somewhere that I can trust will always be there," she explained.

"We just keep getting more animals. As long as we have the space for them we will continue to find ourselves with another goat."

She spoke, too, about eschewing the Hollywood image, explaining, "I’ve fought so hard to impress on people that I am normal. I do not have someone waking me up with breakfast in bed, and I'm not chauffeured around," she said. "And every time I meet somebody new, I'm just so desperate for them to understand that you can talk to me. I wanna connect like everybody else, because I am like everybody else."

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Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.