JM De Guzman opens up on dealing with his panic disorder
JM De Guzman. Image: Instagram/@1migueldeguzman
JM De Guzman gave a candid look at how he manages his panic disorder, such as when it interrupts him in his sleep, in hopes that it may also help those in similar conditions.
The actor shared a video of him placing a towel on his head and face after it was soaked into a basin of ice, via Instagram today, Aug. 17.
“This is what my panic disorder looks like [4 a.m. in the] middle of a good sleep,” he said.
“I managed to record this because somehow [I’m] learning to cope with it and just hoping others might relate and to let you know [you’re] not alone.”
He described the experience as “intense waves of emotions. [R]apid heart beat [that’ll] make you feel you are about to pass out or die.”
“I use ice to slow down the [heartbeat] and to feel my face because my body is numb, [overpowered] by emotions,” he explained. “[This] maybe caused by a painful trauma in the past.”
“[If] you have this too, put ice on your face, head hand and body. Just pray,” he advised.
He also said that those who suffer panic attacks should take deep breaths, and remind themselves that it will pass in 30 or 40 minutes.
“[Keep] telling that to yourself so [that’s] the only thing running inside your mind,” he recommended.
The “That Thing Called Tadhana” star advised to “make the people around you understand [your] condition [and] tell them to stop asking questions and just be there.”
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De Guzman has been upfront about having anxiety attacks. Back in November 2015, he said in a now-deleted Instagram post that he struggled with “anxiety attacks and bipolar [disorder] and depression.”
Shooting while in quarantine proved a challenge in more ways than one for the actor.
He admitted in a media conference for the film “Love Lockdown” last May via Inquirer Bandera that he experienced anxiety attacks which could have challenged the directors he was working with. JB
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