Valerie Bertinelli Opens Up About Her Anxiety Like Never Before In Eye-Opening Video

Valerie Bertinelli has always been the queen of keeping it real — whether she's delivering the most brutally honest digs or laying bare her own personal struggles. But even fans who are used to the beloved actor's transparency couldn't have predicted her latest reveal: A glimpse into a side of Bertinelli's vulnerability that she's never shared before. On November 17, 2024, the Food Network star took to Instagram to post a raw and unfiltered clip of her hands shaking uncontrollably. Apparently, it's a result of an anxiety attack the likes of which she hadn't experienced in a very long time. "I was weeping uncontrollably, and my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest. I couldn't stop shaking," she admitted. "Gratefully these attacks have become much more infrequent, so this one took me a little bit by surprise today."

Bertinelli went on to note that she had turned to meditation and EMDR therapy to steady herself, though the trembling still persisted. She also reflected on the bizarre ways our brains can hijack our bodies, writing, "Part of me is fascinated by what the human body is capable of when our feelings can get in the way or override any reasonable thought and another part of me is just curious on how all of this happens, you know the weird neuropathies in our brain and how it affects our bodies, what feelings (which are just information btw) are and why are they so powerful that they make our body go into overdrive."

But if you thought she was fishing for sympathy, think again. The "One Day at a Time" star made it clear that she's not here for anyone's pity. Instead, Bertinelli wanted to detail her experience with anxiety to remind others who've been in the same boat that they're not alone.

While Valerie Bertinelli's recent Instagram post might be the most vulnerable she's been with fans thus far, it's not the first time she's got impressively real about her mental health. The actor and TV host has long been an advocate for emotional honesty, never one to shy away when it comes to sharing her personal growth. In an essay for New Beauty in 2022, she opened up about her weight loss journey and her decision to ditch the scales. "It's all a test and we'll see how it works, but I do know that my mental health has improved immensely because I stopped looking at the scale every morning — and that's the first big step for me," the soap star penned.

Bertinelli has also shared how she coped with heartbreak, including the loss of her first husband, Eddie Van Halen, and her divorce from her second, Tom Vitale. At first, she turned to alcohol for comfort but soon realized it wasn't the answer. "I think it's important to really not numb emotional pain," the actor told People. "Emotions are information. When I decided to really question why I was having a certain emotion, I was able to — most of the time — walk through it and get to the other side."

Fast forward to today, and the Food Network host is thriving, and she's proud that she doesn't need alcohol to feel good. "Right now, I love how I feel more than how the alcohol makes me feel," she reasoned simply. "I found that I do naturally hum at happy."