Gwyneth Paltrow has opened up about her struggles with her mental health and says she is having "a lot of anxiety for the very first time in my life".
The Oscar-winning actress and Goop founder spoke candidly on the latest episode of her podcast, saying she is now having to "relearn" how to regulate her mind and body.
"I would like to be more intentional about how I spend my time," the 53-year-old said. "I think I have a bit of ADD and I can really get pulled in lots of directions. I would love to try to not do that so much and feel more grounded throughout the day."
Paltrow, who shares two children with Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin, said that years of stress, hormonal changes, and living in the public eye have taken a toll on her nervous system.
"I've lived a very intense life in the public eye for a really, really long time," she explained. "Whenever we’re at the mercy of people’s opinions and all the energy behind those opinions - it kind of frays my nervous system.
"I have a lot of anxiety for the first time in my life, which is a symptom of hormonal changes. I think it’s an oestrogen dominance thing. It makes you really anxious. So part of it is physiological, part of it is psychological, part of it’s emotional and part of it’s public life."
The Marvel star went on to explain how her anxiety often spikes at night. "I know there's something wrong because my cortisol [stress hormone]... like I’ll get in bed exhausted and my heart will start to race. Then I’ll have intrusive thoughts, which I’ve never had in my life. My sleep is still pretty okay, but sometimes I wake up in the morning and I’m filled with dread."
Paltrow said she is grateful to have wonderful support system in her life, saying: " I have two therapists. One is a nervous system specialist," she said. "I have amazing friends, amazing, amazing, amazing women in my life, whom I can call if I need help."
"And then I get a lot of healing from my family, from my kids and my husband. If I can be with everyone, especially if all four kids – my step-kids and my kids – and my husband and I, if we're under one roof, my nervous system calms down."
In May, Paltrow told PEOPLE that she was "trying to work on calming my nervous system and being present in my body, which I have not historically been good at."
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