A Commercial Flop Sent Joe Jonas Into Therapy
Joe Jonas has had a massive amount of success over the years. Now 36, the singer rose to fame as part of a family boy band, and things appeared to be coming up roses for him. A career decision and its subsequent flop, however, had Joe Jonas running to therapy for help with panic attacks. Here’s what happened.
Failure led to panic attacks for Joe Jonas
Joe Jonas just got real on the Hey Jonas! podcast about his battle with panic attacks and what led him to a healthier lifestyle. On a recent episode of the podcast, Jonas explained that after years of near-automatic success with the Jonas Brothers, the muted response to Fastlife, his first solo album, hit him hard. “The reason I started doing therapy is because of the first taste of, like, not achieving ‘success,'” he said, putting air quotes around the word. “I released a solo album when I was about 21, 22, and it didn’t do as well as I thought it would do.”
Jonas went on to reveal that the “failure” made him question his personal worth and his identity separate from his brothers. He said it began manifesting physically, with panic attacks and unexplained pain that sent him to the doctor multiple times. It was during those visits — after tests ruled out a physical cause — that a doctor first suggested he see a therapist.
Initially reluctant, Jonas eventually went anyway, and said he spent the entire first session crying. While therapy has helped him find more balance, he revealed that he is still attending and has used the tools he’s gained in sessions to navigate other challenges that have popped up in his life in the years since.
Other celebrities who have opened up about panic attacks
Joe Jonas’ revelation about suffering through panic attacks shocked some of his fans. Still, he’s not the only star who has admitted to battling debilitating panic attacks over the years. In fact, several A-list stars have discussed their own battles with panic disorder and other anxiety issues in recent history. Lady Gaga has described how chronic pain and trauma responses contributed to panic attacks and “debilitating mental spirals” over the years, work she’s since channeled into her Born This Way Foundation. Selena Gomez stepped back from her career in 2016 after panic attacks and anxiety tied to her lupus diagnosis became overwhelming. She was even hospitalized in 2018 after an attack.
Adele has spoken about pausing touring when panic attacks became unmanageable, eventually returning to the stage with a therapist by her side to help her cope. Missy Elliott has recalled a panic attack that landed her in the emergency room hours before her scheduled Super Bowl halftime performance with Katy Perry in 2015, and Prince Harry has also detailed his own experience with what he called “terrifying” panic attacks tied to unresolved grief.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, up to 11% of people in the U.S. experience a panic attack in a given year, though not everyone who has one goes on to develop panic disorder. Panic disorder affects about 2.7% of the population at any given time.
