Kathy Griffin reveals 'complex PTSD' diagnosis, talks '8-hour' panic attack
Kathy Griffin is peeling back the curtain on her mental health.
The comedian, 62, revealed Tuesday on TikTok that she's been diagnosed with an "extreme case" of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Griffin said she believes her condition began five-and-a-half years ago, around the time she faced widespread criticism for a 2017 photo of her holding a mask of former President Donald Trump covered in blood-red ketchup, but she did not reference the incident. She added that her lung cancer diagnosis in 2021 "didn't help" the state of her mental health either.
"I have lots of tools, but it is extremely intense. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life," Griffin wrote.
In another TikTok video posted Friday, Griffin detailed the panic attacks she suffers, as well as how she copes.
"I had a freaking eight-hour attack yesterday. Eight hours of freaking writhing in pain in the bed," Griffin said. "I felt like one might be coming on, so I started to feel a little iffy. So I'm on my walk now ... which is helpful."
Griffin said she has never talked about her struggles with PTSD publicly but detailed how her panic attacks affect her physically.
"It hits me in my chest first, like my chest starts to tingle. Then it goes right to my stomach," she said in a third video. She wrote in the video's caption: "This last year and a half has been plagued with PTSD stuff. it’s funny. I don’t have anxiety about performing, but I have anxiety about life."
Griffin has been open about the emotional toll the controversial photo shoot has taken on her. In 2021, she told ABC News' "Nightline" about struggling with drug addiction and contemplating suicide in the years after the backlash.
"To be told by people in my own industry, 'It's over. Leave the country for five years. You've shamed our industry,' on and on and on. It definitely got to me," she said in the interview. "And so, I got to the point where I kind of agreed. Like, maybe it is time for me to go, and I've had a great life, and I don't think there's a next chapter for me."
If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call or text the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 any time day or night, or chat online at 988lifeline.org.
Contributing: Edward Segarra, Jenna Ryu
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kathy Griffin diagnosed with 'complex PTSD' after 2017 controversy