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Emma Stone opens up about her panic attacks which started at age seven

The La La Land star has previously been open with her struggle with anxiety

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Sharnaz Shahid
Deputy Online Editor
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She has always been open with her struggle with anxiety. But during Tuesday's episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, actress Emma Stone revealed how her panic attacks started from a young age - when she was just seven years old. Showing off a drawing she did during therapy when she was aged nine, the Oscar-winning star shared: "This is me, I guess. It's really great artistry with my shoes and then this is anxiety here." The sketch featured a young Emma with the words, "I'm bigger than my anxiety!" emblazoned above it.

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"It's a little green monster that looks a little bit, as someone backstage said, a uterus with some ovaries," she continued, also adding: "I was a very, very, very anxious child and I had a lot of panic attacks. I benefitted in a big way from therapy. [And acting] helped me so much, improv helped me so much." Earlier this year, after her successful run through awards season, Emma discussed her battle with anxiety - and how lifelong struggle with the condition made her feel "nauseous". The Hollywood actress, 28, teamed up with the Child Mind Institute, a non-profit organisation which works with children who struggle with mental health and learning disorders.

WATCH: Emma Stone opens up about her struggle with anxiety

In a video, she explained: "What I would tell my younger self about having anxiety is that life goes in stages. It has always been something that I've lived with and it flares up in big ways at different times in my life." Emma also encouraged others to speak out about mental health, saying: "Sometimes while it's happening, like while I'm in a phase of big turmoil, it feels like it's never going to - but it does. As I've gotten older I have learnt to manage it, there are so many tools and they are so many tools that you can learn from it."

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