Country Star Shares Powerful Mental Health Message After Experiencing ‘Terrifying' Panic Attack: ‘I Had Several Breakdowns'
When it comes to country music stars, Lainey Wilson is undeniably on top of her game. Between touring, brand collaborations, and hosting award shows, there's no stopping her. Heck, she even has a song out called "Can't Sit Still," which reflects her on-the-go personality.
But while the Baskin, Louisiana, native, 33, appears to be enjoying every minute of her success, even she admits that the pressures of being an in-demand artist who's always ready for the next moment have taken a toll on her. So much so that she acknowledges experiencing mental health challenges, including having once gone through a serious panic attack, which led her to seek help from three therapists.
A Message to Others
Wilson is sharing her story so others won't feel afraid to open up about their own mental health.
"Speak up when you're not feeling great, because there most likely will be people around you who can help you through it or get you the help you need," the Grammy Award-winning superstar told People as part of the publication's cover story. "If you're not telling the people around you how you're feeling, then nobody's going to know."
The "Somewhere Over Laredo" singer, who spent years in Nashville performing as an unsigned artist before becoming famous, opened up about her terrifying panic attack episode as well as her struggles with depression and anxiety in her brand new documentary, Lainey Wilson: Keepin' Country Cool, which arrived on Netflix on Wednesday, April 22.
Her Hectic Schedule
Recalling a moment from 2019, during an ambitious radio tour at a pivotal point in her career, she said, "I was going around meeting every radio station in America. You go into a conference room, and you play your song, and sometimes they're into it, sometimes they're on their phone, sometimes you're singing to the carpet."
"After four months solid visiting all these different radio stations, I was just exhausted, and I was burned out from having to constantly be on," she added. "I wanted to curl up in a little ball and shut the world out completely."
Further explaining her feelings in her documentary, Wilson acknowledged that her career dreams had come to fruition, but pointed out how every opportunity came at the same time.
"A couple of years ago was wild," she shared in the special, according to iHeartCountry.com. "When opportunities come at you, and you didn't have any for so long, you want to just take them all. And I guess a little bit of that was probably fear that they weren't always going to be there. And I think, too, I was probably finding my self-worth in what I was doing. The performer, the artist, the songwriter, the girl who's going and shaking everybody's hands and kissing everybody's babies. Instead of who I truly am. I had reached a point where I was just like, I don't know if I'll ever be the same."
"I was extremely anxious, and anxiousness caused depression. And it's like the depression caused more anxiety because I was like, ‘why in the world am I depressed during this time of my life?" she continued. "This is everything I've ever wanted.' …I had several breakdowns, I guess you could say. I was just losing it. I was like, I don't know if I can go any further."
Calling her panic attack a "terrifying chemical imbalance" that was happening, she revealed, "I was spiraling out of control. And then it's like the fear of thinking that you're always going to be in that mindset causes more anxiety. It's just like a vicious cycle."
Unforgettable Advice
Luckily, Wilson is on the other side of those feelings and part of what had helped her - aside from therapy - was some guidance from her hero, Reba McEntire.
"'When I feel like I can't do it anymore, I do it for somebody else,'" Wilson remembered what McEntire told her. "It was like a light bulb went off."
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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 8:41 PM.