Jennifer Lopez opens up about exhaustion-induced panic attack: ‘I thought I was invincible’

The singer and actor admits she ‘let my own self-care needs go completely’

Jennifer Lopez in June 2022 (Getty Images for Tribeca Film Fe)

Jennifer Lopez has spoken out about experiencing a string of exhaustion-induced panic attacks early on in her career.

The Golden Globe nominee reflected on feeling “physically paralysed” after experiencing anxiety disorder prompted by a lack of sleep.

In the latest edition of her fan newsletter On the JLo, the 52–year-old singer emphasised the importance of sleep for wellbeing.

“There was a time in my life where I used to sleep three to five hours a night,” she said.

“I’d be on set all day and in the studio all night and doing junkets and filming videos on the weekends. I was in my late twenties and I thought I was invincible.

“Until one day, I was sitting in a trailer, and all the work and the stress it brought with it, coupled with not enough sleep to recuperate mentally, caught up with me.”

The Hustlers star said that she went from “feeling totally normal” and thinking about her plans for the day, to feeling utterly immobilised.

“I was completely frozen,” Lopez wrote.

She said she “couldn't see clearly” and that the physical symptoms “started to scare me and the fear compounded itself.”

She added: “Now I know it was a classic panic attack brought on by exhaustion, but I had never even heard the term at the time.”

MTV Movie &TV Awards-Jennifer Lopez (2019 Invision)

The “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” singer’s security guard took her to see a doctor, who explained that she needed to seriously reevaluate her lifestyle.

“[The doctor] said, ‘No, you're not crazy. You need sleep... get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, don't drink caffeine, and make sure you get your workouts in if you're going to do this much work,’” she continued.

“I realised how serious the consequences could be of ignoring what my body and mind needed to be healthy.”

During this period, Lopez was working on her debut album On The 6, her lifestyle empire, her emerging film career that included her Golden-Globe nominated performance in Selena, as well as her first marriage.

She explained that she “let my own self-care needs go completely”.

Since then, Lopez has followed a wellness ethos has been about “pro-living versus anti-aging”, adding that she has since lived “a very healthy and balanced life”.

She claimed that getting a good night’s sleep “accumulates over time”, saying: “Sometimes I wake up and say, “Wow! I just lost 10 years off my face!””

In June, Lopez cited “disappointment and failure” as motivating factors throughout her career during her acceptance speech at the MTV Movie and TV Awards.