Anne Hathaway Says She Was a "Chronically Stressed Young Woman"
"I didn't know how to breathe yet."
Actress Anne Hathaway is opening up about her pervious struggles with anxiety and stress.
In a recent interview with David Marchese on The New York Times podcast The Interview, The Devil Wears Prada star said she used to be "a really stressed out young woman."
"And as a formerly chronically stressed young woman, which leads to, you know, all manner of things, I just remember thinking one day: 'You are taking this for granted, you are taking your life for granted,'" Hathaway told Marchese, touching on the success she experienced early on in her expansive acting career.
"You have no idea. Something could fall through the sky and that will be lights out for you," she continued. "So when I find myself, like, the old instincts rising, I just tell myself, I'm like: 'You are not gonna die stressed.'"
Anne Hathaway attends the world premiere of 'The Idea of You' during the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival at The Paramount Theatre on March 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas.
When asked what caused her so much stress as a young woman, Hathaway explained that she just "didn't know how to breathe yet."
"And that was really complicated," she continued. "That was really, really complicated, not knowing how to breathe."
Getting even more specific, The Idea of You actress said that as a young Hollywood star "literally everything" caused her stress and anxiety.
"I was just very, very, very in my head, about a lot of things," she went on to explain. "I guess maybe that's the easiest way to put it," adding that sometimes she would be so stressed that she would experience physical symptoms, including tension in her body.
Nicholas Galitzine and Anne Hathaway in 'The Idea of You.'
In another recent interview with Vanity Fair, Hathaway admitted that she likely over-imbibed in order to deal with her overwhelming stress.
"My personal experience with it is that everything is better. For me, it was wallowing fuel. And I don’t like to wallow," she told the publication when discussing her decision to get sober and no longer drink alcohol.
"The thing that I have faith in is that everybody else is going to have one or two drinks, and by the time everybody gets to two drinks, you’ll feel like you’ve had two drinks—but without the hangover.”
In order to get over her stress, Hathaway told Marchese that she has since learned the "beautiful" idea of "surrender."
