--- description: Emma Stone is one of Hollywood's brightest young stars, but part of her process was born out of challenges as a child with anxiety. title: Here's How Emma Stone Remedied Her Anxiety image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's How Acting Helped Emma Stone Deal With Her Anxiety  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 21, 2016 8:41 PM CUT  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 21, 2016 8:41 PM CUT [Emma Stone](http://time.com/4588811/emma-stone-all-that-audition/ "undefined") has become one of Hollywood’s brightest young stars in recent years, but part of her process was born out of challenges she encountered [as a child with anxiety](http://time.com/4546993/teen-depression-and-anxiety-what-parents-can-do/ "undefined"). In an interview for her cover of [_Rolling Stone_](http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/rolling-stone-cover-story-on-la-la-land-star-emma-stone-w456742 "undefined"), the [_La La Land_ ](http://time.com/4588441/emma-stone-la-la-land-interview/ "undefined")star revealed that she suffered from panic attacks and crippling bouts of anxiety as a kid. “My anxiety was constant,” she said. “I would ask my mom a hundred times how the day was gonna lay out. What time was she gonna drop me off? Where was she gonna be? What would happen at lunch? Feeling nauseous. At a certain point, I couldn’t go to friends’ houses anymore – I could barely get out the door to school.” Stone’s parents recognized that she needed help, getting her a therapist which she says “helped so much.” However, another way that she coped with her anxiety was through performing — participating in theater and improv groups to nurture an early love of comedy that would prepare her for the hilarious roles she would have later in life with _Easy A_ and _Superbad_. “I started acting at this youth theater, doing improv and sketch comedy,” Stone said. “You have to be present in improv, and that’s the antithesis of anxiety.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4611066/emma-stone-on-anxiety/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4611066/emma-stone-on-anxiety/"},"headline":"Here's How Acting Helped Emma Stone Deal With Her Anxiety","datePublished":"2016-12-21T20:41:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:39:42.472Z","description":"The 'La La Land' star used to suffer from panic attacks","url":"https://time.com/4611066/emma-stone-on-anxiety/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Mental Health","celebrity","Emma Stone","Culture","la la land"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4611066/emma-stone-on-anxiety/","name":"Here's How Acting Helped Emma Stone Deal With Her Anxiety"}}]}] ```