Willow Smith has revealed her "mental health is in a very fragile state".

Willow Smith

Willow Smith

The 20-year-old star has opened up on her early struggles with anxiety which came at a time when people didn't realise what she was going through.

Appearing on BBC Radio 1’s 'The YUNGBLUD Podcast', she said: "My mental health is in a very fragile state, but I think it’s in a state where it’s about to grow in a really awesome way.”

Part of that growth has been overcoming the "fear" she felt early in her music career.

She added: "For so long I had a lot of fear. I felt extremely unsafe in my music career in the past and that feeling of insecurity or unsafety like I didn’t feel protected which went really deep.

"I kinda had to come back from the music industry and now I’m kinda going back in. It’s interesting because all of those memories and emotions have just been resurfacing.

"I was doing the 'Jimmy Fallon' performance and I had like a flashback of being like 10 or 9 and having like an anxiety attack onset and basically feeling like everyone around me was like ‘You’re just a brat’. ‘Why aren’t you grateful?’ "

She explained how some people thought she was simply throwing a "tantrum", but she is now in a much better place herself to understand what's going on.

She said: "They didn’t see it as an anxiety attack, they saw it as a tantrum and now I look back and know it was an anxiety attack.

"And so when I’m in these situations now and I have these flashbacks, I need to take the time, I need to go into a little meditation, I need to separate myself from the situation for a little bit.

"And tell myself that, ‘You’re not 9, you’re a grown ass woman.’ I have to re-train my mind."

Listen to BBC Radio 1’s 'The YUNGBLUD Podcast' on BBC Sounds.


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